


Becoming Batwoman | Point Rock, Part IV

by EQT_95



Series: Becoming Batwoman [4]
Category: Batwoman (TV 2019)
Genre: F/F, Prequel, batmoore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:06:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 52,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27914986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EQT_95/pseuds/EQT_95
Summary: Kate Kane's third term at Point Rock.Sequel to 'Point Rock, Part III' and prequel to 'Curiouser and Curiouser'
Relationships: Kate Kane/Sophie Moore
Series: Becoming Batwoman [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749118
Comments: 19
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi,
> 
> If you haven't already read the first three parts of this prequel series, I recommend doing so otherwise this story might feel a little out of left field. 
> 
> This work focuses on Kate's third term at Point Rock.

"Kate!" Sophie smiled excitedly. "You're early."

"Thought I'd get a head start unpacking," Kate replied, waving the dorm keys in the air.

"I thought we were going together?"

Kate shrugged. "It's the least I can do. You've been neck deep in pleebs all day; the last thing you should have on your plate is unloading the storage unit."

At the end of spring term, Kate had rented a storage unit to avoid the trouble of moving their things back to Gotham. She had made no plans to rent a vehicle, and her motorcycle wasn't exactly equipped with storage space. It took a few days of pestering by Kate, but Sophie eventually begrudgingly agreed to accept some of the space for her own things.

"You're moving that couch by yourself?"

"Of course not - I've volunteered Melvin to help," Kate replied with a wink.

"Ok, but… well, I left it in a bit of a mess this morning. Ran late."

"Sophie Moore? Late?" Kate gaped. "It's fine. I'll have your boyfriend shield his eyes before we drop off the first load."

"So considerate."

"Anyway, it looks like you're busy. I just wanted to drop by - say hi."

Sophie smiled back gratefully as she glanced over at the welcome tables whelmed by anxious incoming cadets.

"And I guess I'll have to save a proper 'hi' for when you're done," Kate muttered, leaning in with a smirk that made Sophie's cheeks burn.

* * *

"So, good break?" Kate asked as she unlocked the padlock to the storage unit.

Melvin shrugged. "It was the usual."

Kate glanced at him uneasily. They'd been together all of fifteen minutes and not once had he cracked a joke or flashed his signature grin.

"You glad to be back?" Kate asked, searching for a conversation that would bring out the Melvin she knew.

"Yea," Melvin sighed softly as he helped Kate lift the door open. He sighed again as he saw the mountain of boxes in the unit. "How did you fit all of this in that tiny dorm room?"

"Half of these are just boxes of, like, pillows."

"How many do you have?"

"Pillows?" Kate paused as she mentally tallied them off. "Soph has… two? Although she's probably already taken those with her... There's a spare. I have two. Then the couch has the… what?"

Kate paused, seeing Melvin staring off, his attention elsewhere.

"Everything good?"

Melvin hesitated, his face contemplative.

"You know you can tell me anything, right? We both know I've done my share of ta-"

"This is my last term at Point Rock," he confessed. Kate's face fell in surprise.

"What?"

"I… once term is up I'll be done."

"Why? Did… are you transferring?"

He shook his head, his eyes trained on the wall of cardboard boxes in front of them.

"Then… then why?"

"I don't really want to talk about it."

Kate opened her mouth to press him for information, but the distant look on his face was enough guidance she needed to stay mum.

"Ok."

"And if this could stay between us."

"Even from James? Soph?"

"Even them."

Kate nodded. After nearly a year of him respecting her secrets, the least she could do was match that respect for Melvin's want of privacy, but a creeping thread of concern for her friend left her unresolved.

"So, if these are filled with pillows they should be pretty light, right?" Melvin asked, his attention returned to the task at hand. Kate noticed his tone was already lighter than a moment earlier.

"Uh, yea," Kate stumbled in response as she watched Melvin reach the first stack. "Except-"

"Ooph!"

"Except the boxes of Soph's books," Kate grinned.

* * *

"But then what happened?" Melvin asked, his mood a complete one-eighty from earlier.

"Well, I left."

"What?"

"What?"

"She runs after you, kisses you in front of her _parent's_ house, and you just… left?"

"I… I mean, it's not like we haven't talked since then."

"Wait," Melvin said, setting another box on the trolley. "You mean you guys haven't _seen_ each other since either?"

"W-well, no. We… she was working and then left a week later for here and… wait, should… should I have stayed? Or- or gone back?" Kate asked, a wave of concern taking hold.

Melvin grinned back, taking joy in Kate's insecurity. It wasn't a familiar look, and he was capitalizing on the opportunity to extend it as long as possible.

"You're messing with me," Kate realized.

"Honestly? Not sure. I can't believe you went all summer break only seeing each other once though. You two were practically inseparable the last few weeks of term. If you ask me it was a little sickening to see two people so smitten."

"Smitten?"

"Yes, 'smitten', because you shoot me that glare of yours every time I say 'in love'," Melvin reasoned before his eyes widened in proof, "yes, just like that; that's the face."

Kate scoffed as she closed rental truck's tailgate.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, I might owe James $20."

"Why?"

"From our bet."

"Your bet?"

"I'm guessing you two didn't… you know."

"That was your bet?" Kate gaped in surprise.

"Technically we both lost though."

"You guys bet on Sophie and me having sex?"

"Not even just that. We bet on how _many_ times."

"Wh… I… how are we friends."

"You're reading my mind! How could you let me down like that?"

Kate stared back at Melvin in amazement, her mouth open in shock. After a moment she shook her head and turned her attention back to the laiden trolley, pushing it toward the main entrance.

"You wanna know, don't you."

"No, I don't," she huffed against the load of boxes.

"Yea you do," Melvin teased.

"Door?" she asked, holding the cart from rolling back into the parking lot. She glanced at Melvin who was standing expectantly for Kate to reply. She looked like she might protest before glancing around briefly. "Fine, I want to know. Now will you-?" she asked, her head jerking toward the door.

"James had you at four," Melvin muttered as he pulled the door open, aware of the growing number of people around them and aware being back on campus meant a more censored conversation was required.

"Four what? Four times or four orgasms? And for who?" Kate muttered back quietly.

"I… what? It's… that's the same thing, right?" Melvin asked in surprise, pausing at the door as he struggled with Kate's retort.

Kate rolled her eyes at his ignorance. "And what about you?"

"Nine," he replied, pressing the elevator call button.

"Times?"

"Well… now I don't know the difference. I… what's the difference?"

* * *

"Wait, you're saying women can-?"

"Yep," Kate replied as the elevator doors opened to their floor.

"And you don't have to like… recharge?"

"So eloquent," Kate chuckled as they forced the trolley into the hall. "It's not really a recharge. You just sort of… wear each other out. Sometimes you… swap for a bit."

"Swap?"

"Left."

"Huh?"

"Same floor, different room."

"Really?" Melvin said in surprise. "James and I are in the same."

"I don't make the rules," Kate sighed.

"What number?"

"409."

"Nine?"

"Yea."

"Times or orgasms?" Melvin shot back with a sheepish grin.

Kate broke into a smile. "I've missed you."

* * *

"Weird."

"What?" Melvin said at the doorway.

"I… Soph said-"

"Oy, you mind? These aren't light."

"Oh, sorry," Kate replied, stepping aside to let him through.

"Nice, south-facing windows. You can see the quad from here!" Melvin gushed enthusiastically, dropping the box of books before rushing to the windows. "What's weird?"

"Soph said she left the room a mess."

"Sophie thinks a cup without a coaster is a mess."

"Yea but… hang on. This… her stuff isn't even here."

"Hey roomie!" a voice from the doorway shouted.

Kate took one look at Melvin's shocked expression to confirm her fear. She slowly turned to see someone who was very much _not_ Sophie Moore standing in the doorway.

"You beat me here!" Chelsea exclaimed from the doorway before barreling in and engulfing Kate in a giant hug. "And Melvin! I figured you'd be off helping your girlfriend move in."

"Uh, well…" Melvin muttered uncomfortably, "that's what I thought I was doin-"

"Oh, how were your breaks? I have so much to tell you," she giggled with excitement. "When I found out we were rooming at first I was a bit worried because you look a bit messy, but Sophie only ever had the nicest things to say, and we are just going to have _so_ much fun!"

Kate tried to hide the confusion and surprise in her face as she offered a half-smile in recognition at Chelsea's own excitement.

"Uh, so, you-you say you knew we were uh, that we were going to be roo-"

"Is it ok if I take the left side?"

"What?"

"I'm right handed, so I try to go left whenever I can," Chelsea explained which only added to the confused looks coming from Melvin and Kate.

"Uh, yea, that's… you said you knew we were going to be roommates?"

"Did you bring your couch?"

"Wh- yea, but-"

"Because I did, too. That means we've doubled up - oops! I knew I should have called you, but I was just so busy with summer ending and friends and... well you get it. I'm sure you'll find somewhere to put yours. It was such a drab color anyway, right Melvin?"

"What? I-I don't have thoughts," Melvin said, raising his hands in surrender.

"Oh gosh. Well, my parents are downstairs unpacking. Will your little cart be out of the way in time for me to bring my stuff in?" Chelsea said, pointing to the teetering pile of boxes on the cart outside the door.

"Uh, yea, sure," Kate said, trying to keep up with the boisterous energy that seemed to permeate directly out of Chelsea's pores.

"Great! Be right back then," she smiled before bounding out of the room.

"Chels, wait!" Kate called after her. She poked her head around the corner and came face to face with Chelsea spinning around in response.

"Oh, whoops! That almost got weird," Chelsea laughed, raising a hand between her and Kate's face.

"Uh… yea, sorry," Kate replied, trying to keep her eyes from rolling. "When did you say you found out we were going to be roommates?"

"Hm? Oh, like… two, maybe three weeks ago?"

"H-how? How did you find out?"

"The school called and then I got a letter."

"But I thought you were rooming with Martha?"

"She met a boy!"

"That… what?"

"She moved dorms," Chelsea continued as though that was explanation enough.

"S-so… you - so then…?"

"I don't know. I thought I was going to get a single, but this is _so. much. better_!"

"Sure…" she muttered as she watched Chelsea rush down the hall feeling a growing worry loom over her. She returned to the room where Melvin's face was clearly struggling with how to react to the situation. He half looked like he might burst into laughter while the other half knew what this meant for Kate and Sophie.

"Not a word," Kate hissed as she searched for her phone.

"Wh-? I wouldn't dream of it," Melvin replied, sensing now was not the right time for jokes. "It's probably just a small clerical error. You know how the school gets wi-"

"Hey, Soph, it's me. There's… well, just… just call me back when you get this. I think there's been some sort of uh… mix-up with-with… just give me a call, thanks," she said before dropping her phone onto the bed next to her. She sighed heavily as she landed on the mattress next to it.

"It'll get fixed, I'm sure of it," Melvin said with more confidence than he felt.

"You probably just jinxed it."

* * *

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'? How can you say that?"

"Because the assignment is right, and the answer is 'no': you were not accidentally assigned the wrong roommate. If you would like to switch roommates you will need to fill out the proper paperwork an-"

"Switch roomma- I'm not trying to switch. I'm trying to get the one I picked."

"I don't know what to tell you; the paperwork says otherwise," the cadet behind the counter advised.

"That's impossible. I filled out a form. Sophie Moore filled out a form. Don't you have the forms for like, record-keeping?" Kate asked. The look of amusement on the cadet's face made it clear these were not considered valuable assets worth holding onto.

"Is there a problem Cadet Bradley?" came a voice from an office behind the main counter.

"Uh, no, just… just a misunderstanding, sir," Bradley replied to the hidden voice.

Instead of remaining a voice, the figure appeared at the threshold of his office with a smile that made Kate immediately skeptical of his intentions. It was a smile that reminded her of every greasy politician that held office in Gotham.

"Well let's have a closer look, shall we?"

"Uh, yes, sir," Bradley said, stepping aside to give him access to the files Bradley had just reviewed. Kate glanced back at the door he'd just exited and saw the name Lieutenant Arnold Reyes etched on the glass.

"Cadet Kane, is it?"

"Yes, sir," Kate replied.

"Related to retired Colonel Jacob Kane?"

"Er… yes, sir; his daughter."

"Mhm," he said, glancing up from the documents to survey Kate. "And what brings you here. What is your great worry that's causing such a raucous the day before the term even starts?"

"I wouldn't call it a… it seems there was an error in roommate assignments. I was roomed with Cadet Rivers but am supposed to be rooming with Cadet Moore."

"Ah, Sophie, yes, well," Reyes muttered as he scanned the paperwork. Kate felt her eyes narrow in suspicion at the way he casually addressed Sophie by her first name. "I see Cadet Moore is not here."

"Uh, no, she- she was, er, is still helping with first years."

"Yes, of course, of course. She's a bright one. Hard worker. You'd do well to learn a thing or two from her."

"Uh… yea, sure... uhm, sir, is there some way to get this cleared up before everyone moves all their stuff? It'd be a real hassle if we've all-"

"I can confirm that there is nothing on our end to clear up, Cadet Kane," Reyes interrupted with a smile.

"Wh… how- that's not…" Kate stuttered in confusion.

"You, Cadet Kane are assigned to 409, Murray Hall with Cadet Rivers, and Cadet Moore is assigned to 419, Murray Hall with Cadet Thomas."

"Cadet who?" Kate asked, trying to recall the name from the year prior. There wasn't a single first year Kate didn't know, and a 'Thomas' was not among them.

"Cadet Thomas. Perhaps a conversation with Cadet Moore will clear up some of your confusion."

"Sir?"

"Cadet Moore is one of our best and brightest. She is also here on scholarship."

"Yea, but what does that have to do wi-"

"One expectation the school has is that it's best and brightest take on roles of responsibility and leadership where others would fail."

"Where others would-? What does-"

"Cadet Moore is well aware of this requirement. Beginning their second year, it is expected that these select scholars work to raise all ships, if you will," Reyes said, clearly enjoying his opportunity to monologue at length. "On occasion one of our own struggles, and we lean on exemplary students like Cadet Moore to elevate those stragglers. Cadet Thomas, while certainly capable, is one such example."

When Kate's look of confusion didn't fade, Reyes sighed in slight annoyance. "You will not be changing rooms, Cadet Kane. Cadet Moore has been assigned Cadet Thomas as a roommate for the term as a way to reinstate her into the class."

"Reinstate… what does that even mean-"

"That will be all, Cadet Kane," Reyes said, interrupting her. Kate felt her cheeks flush with anger at this. "I'm sure you have plenty of boxes to unpack before classes start tomorrow. You'd do well to get started."

"Sir, I think if you just-"

"As one of your commanding officers, I suggest you hold your tongue and accept the orders given to you, Cadet Kane. Do I make myself clear?"

"But you're not even loo-"

"And now you've just lost your next two Saturdays to running courses, Cadet Kane. I suggest you carefully consider whether you want to lose another with your insubordination."

Kate glowered at Lieutenant Reyes as she closed her mouth, much to his delight. She glanced at Cadet Bradley who silently shook his head in guidance for her to remain quiet.

"Thank you for your time, sir," Kate said through a clenched jaw, backing away from the counter.

"My pleasure," Reyes grinned back. "Oh, and Cadet Kane," he called as she reached the office door, "Saturday 0400 sharp. Don't be late. You'll be running with the fourth years."

* * *

"Hey, way to blow up my pho… ne. Hi?" Sophie said, her eyes landing on an unfamiliar face sitting on Kate's bed.

"Hey."

"Uh hi… hi, sorry, you are?"

"Riley. You must be Moore."

"Uh, Sophie. I… am… is… did Kate let you in?"

"Who?"

"Kate... sorry, how did you get in here?" Sophie asked, glancing around and noting a very different set up than Kate had the semester prior.

"They gave me a key… told me to move in my shit…?"

"What?"

"I live here," Riley said, clearly annoyed by Sophie's confusion.

"I think… I think there's been some sort of misunderstanding. I-I have a roommate who should be…" Sophie fell silent, looking down at the list of missed calls from Kate and beginning to understand the growing intensity in her voicemails.

"Are you slow or something?"

"What? No, I just… I'll be right back," Sophie continued, forcing a smile as she backed out of the still open door. She quickly dialed Kate's number, listening to the six rings that led to her voicemail before cursing softly. She ended it without a word and found Melvin's contact to dial instead.

"Hello?"

"Melvin?"

"Hey babe."

"Not now. Have you seen Kate?"

"She went to the housing office like… an hour ago?"

"Where are you?"

"My room; James is here. You?"

"I just got back," Sophie replied, making a beeline down the hall toward the familiar room.

"Ah, so you've met Riley," Melvin offered apologetically.

"Yea… What's going on?"

"You should probably come to our room."

"I'm coming in," Sophie said, hanging up the phone while simultaneously turning the knob to Melvin's room. "What's going on?"

"We're still trying to work that out," Melvin replied, staring between his phone and Sophie now standing in the doorframe.

"Is this-?"

"All your stuff? Yea," James chimed in. "You have too many books."

"Riley wouldn't let us move it in," Melvin explained of the boxes as Sophie negotiated around them and shut the door for privacy. "She's kind of…"

"A bitch?" James offered.

"That's harsh, but… but _very_ … _very_ close to accurate," Melvin clarified. Sophie glanced between the two, still no clearer on what was unfolding. The look on her face was all Melvin needed to continue his explanation. "So, apparently Kate was assigned rooms with Chelsea, and you were assigned to this Riley character."

"Who is she?"

"Apparently she's our year."

"So she's a transfer?"

"We aren't sure. She wasn't exactly chatty Kathy."

"Can we call her bitchy Barbara?" James offered.

"What? James… no, dude, you are not helping right now. But that's why Kate went to the housing office. There must have been some mix-up in the assign-"

"This is complete bullshit," came Kate's voice bursting through the door. "This asshole of a Lieutenant just - Soph, hey, I-"

"They're filling me in."

"Right," Kate said, her face flush with frustration as she took in the scene of all three crammed around unpacked boxes.

"So what'd you find out?" Melvin asked first.

"It's… it's not a mistake. The assignments are staying."

"That doesn't make any sense; we both filed the forms. I know because I filled out half of yours-"

"I know-"

"-and then submitted it-"

"-I know-"

"-because I knew you'd forget."

"Soph, I know, b-"

"So what's the problem?" Sophie interrupted, her own frustration growing to match Kate's.

"If you would let me finish," Kate began, shooting Sophie a look that quieted her.

"Sorry, I'm just… sorry."

"Maybe we should go," Melvin chimed in, jumping off Kate's couch and glancing at James to do the same.

"But-"

"We're leaving, James," Melvin said, his tone leaving no room to negotiate. "We'll be in the mess hall."

"So what's going on?" Sophie asked as she navigated toward the couch Melvin had just left.

Kate waited for the latch of the door to break into explanation.

"Apparently the powers that be made the change."

"I need a little more than that, Kate," Sophie said as she watched Kate navigate the same terrain to collapse onto the couch next to her.

"This, Cadet Thomas-"

"Riley-"

"Sure. She is… a sinking ship that needs righted, and the leadership at this school has decided their best and brightest student is solely equipped at dealing with that."

"What? Kate, wh-"

"They're using your scholarship as reason to task you with… fixing, or whatever, this Riley person. Apparently it's part of your whole 'scholar outreach' thing. I don't know anything more than that. I don't know who she is or-or what her story is, but according to this Reyes, she-"

"Lieutenant Reyes? He's in charge of the scholar outreach program. He's super nice-"

"Sorry, did you just say 'nice'?"

"Yea."

"Ok, we're going to have to put a pin in that one."

"Maybe I could talk to him and-"

"Soph, he's the one who told me it wasn't a mistake."

"But… wait, so… so what can we do?"

"Hope that Chelsea is still dating Tony?"

"What? No, Kate, I'm being serious right now. If… if we aren't rooming together-"

"I know. Things are going to get complicated," Kate said. It was something that had played out in her mind for the last two hours: if they weren't roommates, that would make their relationship near-impossible to maintain. It was easy enough when they slept behind the same door; there was no reason for anyone to be suspicious. But even if Chelsea made a permanent move into Tony's room, Sophie slipping in and out of Kate's room could raise all sorts of alarms.

They sat in silence as the reality of the situation unfolded in their imaginations.

"Kate…"

"It's going to be fine. We - we'll figure it out," Kate replied with more confidence than she felt. She slipped her fingers between Sophie's and gave it a light squeeze. "Besides, this year would've been really boring without a little hiccup."

"This is a hiccup?"

"Sure."

"I don't want to know what you think a glacier is," Sophie chuckled before sobering, a scowl appearing over her eyes.

"Don't worry. That's year four material," Kate smirked, slipping her hand out of Sophie's and lifting her arm to wrap it tightly around Sophie. She pulled her close and set her lips on the side of Sophie's head, sighing softly. "I'm glad you're here."

Sophie broke into a soft laugh.

"What?"

"This… just… I spent all afternoon imagining your proper hello. I never imagined you'd go to such efforts to get me alone on our couch-"

" _Our_ couch?" Kate gushed.

"-in James and Mevlin's room-"

"-what can I say-"

"-which still smells from last year-"

"-I'm as romantic as they come, Sophie Moore," Kate finished before she pressed her lips to Sophie's, letting the last two hours wash away under them.


	2. Chapter 2

"Kate?"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Kate whispered, rubbing her eyes of sleep.

"I… I don't know what to do," she said quickly, unable to hide the panic in her voice.

"Why? What's going on," Kate replied, already sensing with a creeping suspicion that she knew what Sophie's next words would be.

"It's Riley."

"Again?"

"She's just…"

"Where is she?"

"Somewhere between here and-"

"Wilfred Hall."

"Melvin is already out looking for her."

"Give me a minute."

"Kate if she gets caught-"

"I know. Just… ok, ok," Kate replied, seeing the worry intensify on Sophie's face. She reached back into her dorm room and grabbed the first piece of hooded fabric she could find before reappearing at the door.

"Chelsea?"

"Tony's," Kate yawned. Sophie nodded as they walked toward the stairs.

"I figure maybe it's best if we split up like last time. Text when one of us finds her."

"Mhm," Kate replied, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes but knowing the drill. It was the third weekend of term and Riley had already managed to alienate the entire class, but that didn't stop her from engaging in Wilfred Hall's extra-curriculars. The real problem wasn't that she drank: it was what she did afterwards. Friendless and fearless had a way of stirring up all sorts of trouble on a campus surrounded by tradition and rules. If they thought Miller was bad, Riley was on an entirely different planet when it came to chaos.

After the first weekend which involved the beheading of a respected general's statue in the quad, Sophie was put in the hot seat with pressure to follow Riley's whereabouts and help keep her nose clean. This wouldn't be a problem except Riley had no intention of doing that which meant corralling late night search squads Thursday through Sunday to retrieve and put the rebel safely back to bed.

"I'll take the north edge of campus," Sophie offered, as they walked out into the warm summer night.

"I'll check out around the Bursar's Office. She has a penchant for fountains," Kate muttered grumpily.

"Nice word."

"I have a good tutor," Kate smirked through her sleepiness. She felt the warmth of a light peck from Sophie on her cheek that suddenly made the midnight search worth it.

"See you in a bit," she called before trekking off in the opposite direction of Kate.

Kate watched her go with a light smile on her face before sighing into the direction of the Bursar's Office. She heard the calls of drunken laughter echo through the air, and a part of her wished she could be there instead of alone, wandering through the wet, dewy grass. A bigger part of her wished she was back in bed. The biggest part of her, though, wished she was back in Sophie's bed.

Kate squinted into the darkness, waffling between hoping she'd find Riley to get the night over with but also willing to wander around for two hours if it meant someone else stumbled upon her mess. She had the unfortunate luck of finding her four of the five times Riley had traipsed off, and Kate was not eager for a repeat.

Unfortunately for her, that luck was continuing as she rounded into the square outside the Bursar's Office. She heard the splashing before she saw the drunken sailor, and she felt a string of curses sitting on the tip of her tongue at the scene. She'd struggled to keep her patience the last three times and knew tonight was no different. The only thing that saved both her and Riley from bad decisions was that Kate knew Riley getting into trouble again would fall on Sophie. While Lieutenant Reyes had not been explicit in his directions to Sophie, the narrative woven in metaphors didn't require much imagination to understand that Sophie was in the direct line of fire should Riley get up to no good again. The repercussions weren't known, but an added risk was the extensive level of oversight that came with the Wayne Tech interview process. All of these variables added up, and neither she nor Melvin, James, or Sophie were willing to let the rogue Riley risk play out.

Kate begrudgingly pulled out her phone and fired off a text to call off the search party. She didn't look at them, but the subsequent buzzing of incoming messages could only mean Mevlin and James were overjoyed at not being the unlucky ones.

As she approached the fountain, Kate noticed a string of empty beer cans littering around the fountain. Her disdain for this girl was growing by the second as she watched her fling about without care in the water. It was when Kate was within splashing distance that Riley caught sight of her and shouted in excitement.

"Kate! Oh, look, I'm a mermaid!"

Kate stared back, unamused, without patience, and trying to plan out how best to get Riley out of the fountain without getting wet herself or arousing any other unwanted attention. She cautiously approached the edge of the fountain and waited for Riley to flail her way to her, sending flecks of water at Kate in the process.

"Fun's over; time to get out."

"But I haven't found my treasure."

"Guess you'll have to come back some other night-"

"-no fair-"

"I suggest December," Kate continued, already feeling exhausted at the thought of the trip back with a soaking wet Riley at her side.

"You're sweet."

"I'm not."

"You've come to rescue me again."

"Believe me, I am not doing this for you," Kate muttered lowly. "Out. Now."

Riley offered a mocking grin before falling back into the water, sending a wave of it onto Kate.

"Riley, I'm serious. Either you get out or I call campus police."

"You won't," Riley laughed, calling Kate's bluff. She sat, half submerged in the water grinning back at Kate's frustration. The stand-off lasted minutes before Riley sighed in boredom. "Fine, but now you owe me."

"That's not how this works," Kate said, watching Riley stumble out of the fountain.

"We'll see," she replied, ignoring Kate's tone of annoyance.

* * *

"I know about you," Riley said, breaking from the obnoxious noises she'd been making that narrated half their walk back to the dorm. It took another twenty minutes and a 'surprise attack' which involved Riley leaping back into the fountain, dousing Kate in a splash of over-chlorinated water before Riley complied. This final straw sent Kate's last trace of patience flying, and Riley giggled in glee that she'd managed such a feat. Feeling fulfilled in her efforts, she proudly climbed out of the fountain for a final time, squishing water from her shoes with every skip she took.

"Yes, you've told me," Kate muttered of Riley's veiled remarks. "Now how about we get you to bed?"

"Oh, but I _know_ about you," Riley continued, her voice mocking as she grinned up at Kate.

"Riley, you're going to have to try harder than that to get under my skin. I thought you grew up in Gotham, too. You should know that."

"I know you like pussy."

"Vivid as always Riley. Thank you for that."

"I have proof."

"Sure."

"Kate Kane; somehow even at eighteen you'd painted quite the name for yourself in the Gotham Gazette."

"Never read it," Kate replied lamely.

"Maybe you should have."

Kate didn't respond, knowing the lack of it would annoy Riley.

"Don't you want to know why?" Riley pressed after a minute.

"Do I look like I care what a shitty newspaper writes about me?"

Riley scowled. They remained quiet for only a minute or two longer before Riley started up again:

"I know you want to fuck her."

Kate paused and glanced down at Riley who was looking up at her with a sinister grin, as though knowing that she'd just landed on the right topic to stir up trouble.

"I think you don't know what you're talking about," Kate answered coolly, before continuing to walk, careful to match her pace from before.

"I think I do know what I'm talking about," Riley giggled. "I see the way you look at her."

Kate focused on the drunken laughter that broke out somewhere on campus for distraction.

"Does she know?" Riley continued.

Kate remained quiet but felt a heightened caution to the words spouting from Riley's drunken mouth.

"Does she know you want her pussy?"

Kate bit her tongue and took a slow breath, knowing a reply would only encourage her ramblings.

"Is that why? Is that why you wanted to room with her?" Rile continued when Kate didn't respond.

"Almost there," Kate narrated, feeling grateful for the glowing lobby through the double doors. She pulled open the door and guided Riley through into the building. Ten more steps, an elevator ride, and a short walk to 419 was all that remained between Kate and her freedom.

"So you could watch her? I'll admit, she's nice to look at; if you're into that sort of thing," Riley continued as Kate pressed for the elevator. "She's hard not to notice, right?"

"Left one," Kate replied lightly, watching the far elevator doors open and conscious of the giggles from a tipsy couple lounging in the lobby. She pulled on Riley's arm to direct her toward it.

"Do you miss it? What's your favorite part? I mean, when you imagine her," Riley asked as Kate pressed '4' and watched the doors slide shut. "You do imagine her, right?"

Riley watched Kate stare ahead, counting the seconds till she could be done with her.

"Her boobs? No, you don't seem like the tit type."

"Riley, if you-"

"Maybe her ass?"

"That-"

"Oh, I know: her mouth. Yea, I bet that Christian girl mouth is plenty experienced with-"

"Enough," Kate hissed, her temper cutting through her attempts at diplomacy as she felt her arms grab Riley's shoulders and pin her angrily against the elevator wall. "If you ever-"

Riley broke out into a cackle of laughter. "I did it! I got under your skin!"

Kate quickly released Riley as her anger clouded her vision, realizing she'd just let Riley get the better of her.

"So you do," Riley mused as the elevator slowed. "Does she know?"

Kate exhaled slowly as she watched the doors open.

"Get out."

Riley pouted mockingly as she skipped out of the contained box. "Quite the secret we're keeping Katherine Kane."

"Too bad you're not going to remember any of this when you wake up tomorrow," Kate bluffed but hoping this night matched all the others.

"Perhaps not… but _you_ will," Riley smirked back, leaving Kate standing next to the puddle that had accumulated under Riley's feet.

* * *

"Kate, thank you, I…" Sophie sighed, glancing into the darkened room toward the passed out form snoring softly in the bed. Less than fifteen minutes had passed since Kate returned Riley to her room. Upon her return, Riley had promptly marched in, changed, and collapsed into her bed, ignoring the reprimands coming from Sophie for challenging the system. "I'm sorry about this-"

"Don't, you don't need to apologize for... " Kate interrupted, leaning against the door frame and gesturing at the mess inside the room. A wave of exhaustion was creeping up now that the adrenaline from the evening's adventures faded. "I'm just sorry Reyes is making you do this. This is way above your pay grade," she continued, softening at Sophie's concern. She felt Sophie's hand rest at her waist, breaking rule number four and shooting a small spark of excitement that replaced Kate's want for sleep, the lingering remarks Riley made in the elevator already forgotten.

"You're the best," Sophie muttered, a look of longing on her face as she stared half a moment too long on Kate's lips. "Do you… would you want to-?"

"I… I can't. I need to get to bed," Kate sighed in disappointment as she glanced at the time blinking at her from the clock sitting across the room. At this rate she'd manage two hours of sleep if she fell asleep forty minutes ago.

"Why? You aren't-"

"I was late last weekend, and the drill instructor doesn't take kindly to truancies."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sophie asked.

"I thought I did," Kate replied. "But it's fine; you've had your hands full."

Sophie sighed in frustration. "I'm sorry. This is… this is all my fault; you were out half the night last week and again tonight… Kate, I-"

"It's fine. Tomorrow is the last time, and then we can spend the rest of our Friday night's sneaking off to wherever you'd like," Kate muttered in promise. She watched the words blush over Sophie's cheeks before giving her hand a small squeeze. "Still on for a movie tomorrow?"

"Of course," Sophie smirked at the reminder. "I miss you."

"Miss you, too," Kate whispered, releasing Sophie's hand and giving her silhouette one final smile before exiting into the hall.

* * *

"Where you going?"

Kate slowed her walk as the familiar voice sent her into a freefall of annoyance. She turned to see Riley leaning against the wall outside her room, a smirk playing as she delighted in whatever game she'd set out to play this time.

"Can I help you, Riley?" Kate seethed while trying to maintain an air of indifference.

"Going to hang out with Sophie's boyfriend?" she remarked, her voice unnecessarily loud for the distance between them.

"He has a name," Kate replied coolly.

"Does she know how much time you spend alone with him?" she remarked with faux seriousness.

"Does James count for nothing?"

"Who?" Riley scowled in confusion.

"Melvin's roommate? Occupies the other half of the room? Sits next to you in chemistry?"

"Doesn't ring a bell," Riley waved off.

"You might want to try remembering," Kate offered.

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Because if you actually want to be a villain, you'll try a little harder at the details. You think the Riddler improvs all those traps?"

Riley's eyes narrowed in annoyance as Kate grinned innocently back.

"Do us all a favor and don't wander too far tonight, yea?" she winked.

Kate didn't wait for Riley to recover, instead completing the short walk to room 403. Unfortunately her timing wasn't quite right. Just as she placed her hand on the knob, Riley found her voice:

"Does he know?"

Kate froze, the door knob one ninety degree turn from opening into sanctuary. She sighed before releasing it back into its closed position and returned the handful of steps back toward a grinning Riley.

"What are you playing at?" Kate asked when she was close enough. She'd had two weeks of Riley toying around the topic, which was about thirteen days too many for her liking.

"Who says I haven't done my homework?" Riley replied, her tone dancing toward menacing. "Besides, can't a girl be curious?"

"There's 'curious' and then there's 'vindictive,'" Kate replied, feeling the last of her patience dwindle. It was becoming a common feeling around Riley.

"It's just so interesting to me that you've got all of them fooled."

"Is it? That's what interests you?" Kate replied, sensing Riley's comments were going nowhere. Kate had learned there were two types of conversations when it came to Riley: the first was where she was simply trying to ruffle feathers; the second was because she wanted something. Kate was quickly getting the impression it was the first.

"Well, they're supposedly your friends, right?"

"That's the word on the street," Kate replied, turning back toward Melvin room.

"It'd be unfortunate to lose out on that then," she said, as Kate moved to leave.

"Excuse me?"

Riley paused and looked back with a smirk. "You know, what with your imminent expulsion and everything."

"My wh-? What are you talking about?" Kate asked, mentally recategorizing the conversation and no longer able to hide her disdain for Riley's presence.

"Remember when I said I had proof?"

"Of what?"

"You're too smart to play dumb, Kate. You know what I'm talking about. It was barely even a day ago. Remember? On our intimate late night walk together?"

"If that's supposed to scare me…"

"Oh, no, that would be a waste of time; I can tell you don't scare easily."

"Then what?"

"I'm just trying to make my sentence here a little more enjoyable for me."

"Your sentence? No one is making you stay. In fact, I will happily show you the door."

Riley shrugged at this.

"What do you want?" Kate asked, getting straight to the point, sensing Riley's agenda was about to be divulged in a slurred presentation of scattered thoughts anyway.

"Depends. How much is being here worth to you?"

* * *

"Riley?" Melvin asked when Kate finally entered the room.

Kate's sigh was explanation enough as she found her way to the couch, stepping over James' outstretched legs in the process. After much back and forth, it was agreed that Kate's couch would have a better home with Melvin and James than it would with Riley and Sophie. Mostly, it meant Sophie had somewhere to sleep on nights when Riley was too much to handle. It also helped that she had Melvin as her fake boyfriend which minimised the number of raised eyebrows at the act, providing a momentary relief for all parties.

"She's like the energizer bunny," Kate remarked, collapsing on the cushions next to Sophie.

"Maybe we should try tranquilizers," James offered, resulting in a wave of baffled faces directed at him.

"I know you're joking, but honestly, even one Riley-free day would be a godsend," Sophie remarked with a sigh, her thoughts getting lost in memory of the semester prior when skirting around an intolerable roommate wasn't a thing. She'd taken to existing primarily between the library, lounge, and Melvin's room with the occasional poke into her room to make sure Riley wasn't decapitating statues, building homemade smoke bombs, or setting fires to puppies.

That even Sophie was at her wit's end accentuated how unbearable Riley's presence could be. Between her intentionally vulgar remarks and a seemingly default mood honed around issuing insults to anyone within a ten foot radius, the group's patience had quickly dwindled.

"You crashing here tonight?" Kate asked, glancing around for signs of her overnight bag.

"I told her she could but...," Melvin remarked, flipping through his binder of dvds.

"But what?" Kate asked, scowling between Melvin and Sophie.

"I can't… let her just roam around unsupervised on the weekend."

"Yes you can," Kate challenged, feeling a familiar discussion on the horizon.

"Kate, it's not tha-"

"Die Hard."

"What?" Kate asked, and Sophie relaxed in appreciation as Kate's attention turned in distraction toward Melvin's interruption.

"Die Hard," he repeated, jumping off his bed. "We're watching Die Hard."

"Again?" Kate complained.

"Our room, our rules," James chimed in.

"We agreed you could choose the movies, not that it would be Die Hard _every time_ ," Kate challenged.

"What's your problem with Die Hard?"

"Where do I start-"

"Die Hard is fine," Sophie interrupted, grabbing Kate's hand and giving it a light squeeze. "We're happy to watch it, right _babe_?"

Kate glared in annoyance before softening at Sophie's attempt at a stern look. "Fine, but next time-"

"Die Hard 2!" Melvin shouted, his boyish grin on full display. He quickly inserted the DVD into Kate's tv which had also found a home in 403 after Chelsea complained that it took up too much space in 409.

-

"This is the worst movie," Kate muttered into Sophie's ear.

"We can hear you," James interrupted.

"Good," Kate retorted as another explosion illuminated the room. She felt Sophie's hand squeeze against Kate's for the third time that night. Instead of reciprocating, Kate slid her hand out of Sophie's to meet up with her own other hand, letting them wrap around Sophie's waist. It wasn't exactly how Kate pictured spending her Saturday before the semester started. She felt herself in a constant tug of war over their situation: this was certainly better than nothing, but she'd also experienced better than this. Those memories hung over her like a mocking cloud as she compared them to the last few weeks.

"Everything ok?" Sophie whispered, looking up and studying Kate's silhouette in the dark.

Kate nodded mutely, feeling Sophie's gaze on her. When it didn't leave she glanced down and offered a small smile before resting her lips against Sophie's head, inhaling the familiar lavender scent.

"Obviously. You're here," Kate whispered back as James shouted in support of John McClane's latest antics. Kate felt Sophie burrow further into her and sigh contentedly into her chest. Kate reacted by squeezing Sophie tighter before she watched her hand slide between Kate's hands and entwine her fingers into them again. Sophie mimicked the gesture by giving her hand a small squeeze, and Kate felt her reservations fade into the background.

* * *

"So are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"What's been going on," Sophie asked quietly.

The movie had ended and the boys had passed out in their respective beds, leaving Kate and Sophie the lone survivors of movie night.

While only three weeks into term, it had become a pattern for them to spend evenings in 403 before Kate and Sophie would inevitably sneak out and climb to the top floor of the dorm's egress stairwell. This evening included a small detour back to 419 to make sure Riley was behaving. Once confirmed, Sophie climbed the three flights to meet Kate. It was the perfect hideout: travellers could only come from one direction, and the acoustics of the tall, hollow concrete shaft made it such that they knew when someone was using them. Eventually they'd need somewhere more conditioned once winter hit, but for the time it held up.

Within the first week of term, it was clear that Kate and Sophie's relationship was going through an adjustment period. Denial had quickly turned to anger once Reyes confirmed a change wasn't coming. This translated into days of bickering and feuding about the new limits on their ability to be together.

_"Chelsea is staying at Tony's tonight."_

_"Ok."_

_"So, I was thinking-"_

_"Nope."_

_"What? But - but we'll be careful and-"_

_"No."_

_"-Soph, please?" Kate pleaded, an unfamiliar desperation in her voice._

_"Kate, you know we can't. There's literally a one hundred percent chance we'll get caught."_

_"Literally? That's not true-"_

_"Not twenty four hours ago you came in here complaining that Chelsea barged into the room-"_

_"That-"_

_"-in the middle of the night-"_

_"It's different-"_

_"-because Tony was twitching too much in his sleep."_

_"But it's… Soph, come on."_

_"No. You know it. I know it. Hell, even James knows it-"_

_"I do," James chimed in over the video game occupying his attention._

_"So what? We're just going to resort to… what… high fives down the hall?"_

_"I don't like it anymore than you do-"_

_"Then why are you shooting down every plan?"_

_"Because none of your ideas are 'plans', Kate."_

_"That's because you don't want them to work."_

" _Why would you say that?"_

" _Because it's true."_

_"You don't think I'm upset, too? You think I like having an across-the-aisle relationship with you?" Sophie asked, her voice raising to a new level of frustration._

_"Guys."_

_"What?" Sophie shot toward the otherwise motionless figure in the corner of the room._

_"You're loud. Like, hallway-level loud," James offered simply, not looking away from the screen._

_"Soph, I-" Kate started again after a brief silence, her voice eight levels lower._

_"Don't. Just… it's fine. I was leaving anyway."_

_"Soph…"_

From there they'd spent the first Thursday of term bargaining. The vulnerability and risk of exposure that their relationship had become resulted in an unintended opportunity for reflection on all the things they'd taken for granted.

_"We should have seen each other more over the summer."_

_"We both had stuff going on, Kate. It's not like we could have known a scholarship would be our downfall."_

_"What if I paid your tuition?"_

_"What?"_

_"Then you wouldn't have this scholarship and Riley would have to room with someone else."_

_Kate looked back toward Sophie, her scowl set with impatience._

_"What?" Kate asked, not understanding the look her girlfriend was giving. "It's actually a goo-"_

_"Do you hear yourself? In what world do you ever think I'd agree to that?"_

_"Oh, I don't know, maybe a world where you_ want _to be in a relationship?"_

_Sophie blinked back in surprise. "I can't believe you just said that."_

" _Am I wrong?"_

" _If that's a question you actually need answered, we're living very different relationships."_

That conversation brought on depression. For Kate it was worse. A part of her felt like the reasons for their relationship to end were adding up, and it was only a matter of time before it happened. This translated into days of distancing herself from Sophie. She bailed on their Saturday plans, citing that she was tired from the 4am course run. She remained absent from 403 for this length of time as well. This only fed into Sophie's own doubts that, after just one week back, they wouldn't make it as a couple past September.

All of this came to a head the following Monday night when Melvin came knocking on 409, asking for Kate.

_"What's up?" Kate asked._

_"Talk to her."_

_"I…" Kate paused, slipping out of her room and closing the door to keep their voices from weaving their way back to Chelsea's ears. "I don't know what you're tal-"_

_"Reyes just accused her of neglecting her role as a scholar."_

_"For what?"_

_"Apparently Riley beheaded a guy this weekend."_

_"I… wh- she did what?" Kate asked, a world of confusion spinning through her mind._

_"You know that statue in the quad? General Peters or something? Yea, knocked his head clean off."_

_"Wait, this was a statue?"_

" _Yea."_

" _Dude, better context next time," Kate sighed in relief. "What does that have to do with Soph?"_

_"There was some boat metaphor. I didn't really follow it but-"_

_"Where is she?"_

_"Which one?" Melvin asked. A scowl was all the answer he needed. "She's in our room."_

For all the differences that existed between Sophie and Kate, one thing they held in common was innate stubbornness. The standoff that ensued forced Melvin and James to retreat elsewhere for an hour as the couple confronted the walls they'd built the last few days.

" _What did he say?"_

" _It doesn't matter."_

" _Soph-"_

" _I said it doesn't matter," Sophie scowled back._

_"But what are we going to do about it?"_

_Sophie gaped back in surprise. "_ 'We' _aren't going to do anything, Kate."_

_"What? So you're just going to-to, let Riley roam unhinged on campus and take the fall for it?"_

_"No."_

_"Ok, then what's the plan? What are we gonna do?"_

_"There is no 'we' here, Kate._ I _am going to take care of it."_

_"What? No," Kate replied, finally understanding Sophie's suggestion. "You're not dealing with this alone. We… we'll come up with a game plan and-"_

_"Kate, this isn't your problem to deal with."_

_"Yes it is."_

_"How? Why are you even here right now? How is any of this your problem?"_

_"Because you aren't happy."_

_"Wh-what?" Sophie gaped back._

_"That's my job - that's - we're a team, right? That… that means your problem is my problem."_

_"Then where have you been the last four days?" Sophie asked, her voice cracking in frustration._

_"What?" Kate asked, confused by the reaction on Sophie's face._

_"I… Kate, I'm not happy about us. I'm not happy with where this is going."_

_Kate swallowed as she realized Sophie wasn't talking about Riley anymore._

_"Ok," Kate replied hesitantly. She suddenly felt over-stimulated, cautious of Sophie's next words and expecting them to be exactly what she'd spent the last four days imagining. She watched Sophie's gaze drop as she tried to find the words to express her deteriorating feelings between them._

_"I want this to work. I want you around. I want… Kate, I want to make sure this works," Sophie confessed, and she watched her words cause Kate to visibly relax. "The last week hasn't been great, and if this… if we're going to make it work, things need to change."_

_"That… that is not what I expected you to say," Kate sighed in relief. Sophie slid her arms slipped past the metaphoric wall between them onto Kate's waist, a small smile of surprise playing on her face._

_"Oh? Thought I was kicking you to the curb?" Sophie asked, a full grin now on display as she watched Kate's_ _mouth wordlessly open and close. "You'll need to try a bit harder than that to get rid of me," she continued before leaning in to capture Kate in a tender kiss._

_Kate cherished the touch she'd been missing for the better part of a week. Relief swelled inside of her as Sophie's lips played softly against hers. An eagerness to deepen the kiss was abruptly cut off by Sophie pulling back._

_"Wh-?"_

_Sophie grinned at the exaggerated pout Kate offered before stepping back toward_ their _couch._

_"We can finish that when we finish this conversation."_

_"What else is there to say?" Kate asked defiantly. "It all seems straightforward to me. You want me around: check. I want you around: check. You want to make this work; agreed, check."_

_"Oh? And how has that unspoken arrangement been working for you the last week?"_

_Kate waved a dismissive hand as she sat next to Sophie. "Semantics."_

" _Your word choice is getting much better," Sophie remarked proudly._

" _New tutor. I can give you her number-"_

" _Oh?"_

" _Yea, but watch out."_

" _And why is that?"_

" _She's smokin' hot," Kate admitted freely, sending a squirm of discomfort through Sophie. "Makes it really hard to focus."_

" _Good thing I know how to make you focus," Sophie replied, quickly recovering from Kate's effect on her._

" _Mhm," Kate said, leaning in eagerly._

_"Incentive," Sophie replied, lifting her hand to hold Kate back. "We'll talk first."_

They spent the better part of the night talking, at one point getting kicked out of James and Mevlin's room so they could go to sleep. It was on that night that they'd found the stairwell which became their go-to spot for late night sessions and where they ultimately came up with a list of rules for their relationship to navigate the rest of term.

"Nothing, why?" Kate asked in response to Sophie's question.

"You've been… I don't know. You seem on edge."

"Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. It's fine - I just… it's fine."

" _Babe_ ," Kate joked, earning a scowl of disapproval from Sophie.

"I know, I know… I guess… I just miss you. And maybe I'm being a little sensitive. And… and maybe it's nothing but... It feels like everything between us is on a twenty-four hour delay. Last semester we knew everything going on because, well… we couldn't avoid it, but now I feel in the dark. Like this morning; I didn't know or, at least, didn't remember," she corrected at Kate's glance, "that you had to be up at four in the morning-"

"Soph," Kate smirked, pulling Sophie closer to disrupt her thoughts before she talked herself into a permanent spiral of negativity.

"How was that by the way? I didn't even ask."

"It was… fine."

Sophie stared knowingly back at Kate, waiting for her to elaborate.

"It… it'll be another week before we get to sneak off," Kate said, alluding to her promise from the night prior, her eyes filled with apology.

"What happened?"

Kate sighed then chuckled, " _Apparently_ , I was 'too much of a team player' for Lieutenant Reyes' liking."

"How does that work?"

"I didn't show enough diligence in beating my previous run time. I'm convinced he's just playing mind games at this point, because last week he got on me about not providing enough support to the squad."

"Why do I feel like I'm missing something?"

"Probably because you are," Kate admitted, realizing she hadn't really told Sophie about the last three Saturdays in any detail. "One of the obstacles - they call it the tapering wall -"

"I've heard of it; you can see it from our half of the course," Sophie remarked of the second-year drill course. The east end of campus had been developed as a series of obstacle courses for the various drills to be run, and portions were walled off for the explicit purpose of maintaining the allure of mystery. The walled-off areas were specific to the older years, and that Sophie had heard of it spoke to the lack of mystery around the different courses.

"Yea; forty foot wall, eighty-four degree slope, starts wide at the base and slowly tapers as you climb it…"

"The tapering doesn't sound so bad."

"Except you're required to run three cadets at a time," Kate continued. "Since it tapers, only one person can maneuver to the top at a time. There isn't room for all three."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning the other two are left dangling until the first climbs over."

"Just drop and wait," Sophie suggested, thinking of the first and second year course. Kate shook her head in response.

"Drop and fail."

"What?" Sophie gaped. "But… but-"

"So I let the other two go ahead of me," Kate continued, "which meant my time got delayed."

"And Reyes got on you about that?" Sophie replied in disbelief as Kate nodded her head. "It's so weird…"

"What is?"

"You describe Reyes like he's a complete ass."

"That's because he is."

"But he's never been anything but nice-"

"You do remember he's the one who ball and chained you to Riley Thomas, right?"

"I… sure, but aside from that-"

Kate broke out into a chuckle.

"Aside from that," Sophie scolded, "he's been great."

Kate shrugged.

"So you climbed up last?" Sophie asked after a minute.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yea," Kate replied, indifferently.

"You'd have to be pretty strong to pull that off," Sophie muttered in Kate's ear.

"It wasn't… Sophie Moore, are you hitting on me?" Kate said, breaking into a grin.

"That depends," Sophie replied.

"On?"

"Is it working?" she whispered with a glimmer of mischief.

"Always," Kate replied before her hands greedily pulled Sophie towards her. Sophie wasted no time, shifting herself to straddle Kate, quickly ending the verbal part of their evening.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey," Kate whispered in Sophie's ear, causing her to nearly bolt out of her chair.

"Wh- Kate, how many times-"

"Sorry, I know, I know. You're just…just-"

"Studying? Working diligently? Clearly _not_ looking to get a heart attack?"

"I was going to say 'you're just so attractive when you're studying and you have that little scowl of concentration that I can't imagine disrupting until it's too late'..." Kate smirked. "But, sure, those work too," she finished, sliding into the chair next to Sophie.

"That's not going to work every time," Sophie said of Kate's attempts to flirt her way out of being chastised.

"Yea, but… did it work this time?" Kate asked, before breaking into a wider grin.

"Barely."

"I'll take it."

"I'm trying to study," Sophie finally said, transitioning away from Kate's unexpected greeting.

"And that's why I'm here," Kate replied.

"Funny, last I checked, studying involved books-"

'Well, what I meant was-"

"-maybe a notepad-"

"Soph, obviously I-"

"Even a scrap of paper and pen. _Anything_ , really," Sophie continued, breaking into a smile that replaced Kate's fading one.

"I like you-"

"Well thank you-"

"Which is why I let these comments slide-"

"Oh, you _let_ them slide? How should I thank you for that? A fruit basket? A throne? Maybe one of those little medals?"

Kate groaned as Sophie's playfulness outwitted her own. "You win," she said, conceding.

"What do you want?" Sophie said, basking in the success of besting an unprepared Kate Kane.

"A few things-"

"A few?"

Kate nodded before continuing: "But I can only talk about one of them in public," Kate explained, easily setting Sophie's cheeks ablaze, and mentally marking a quick point under her name on the scoreboard that tracked their banters and volleys.

"Go on," Sophie replied, trying to ignore Kate's insinuations.

"You know how we don't room together anymore?"

"Now that you mention it-"

"That was rhetorical."

"Fine," Sophie chuckled.

"And how we spend way too much time in Melvin and James' room?"

"Mhm."

"And how your favorite hobby is, well… this," Kate gestured at the array of books and notes littering the table.

"Yes…"

"Well, did you know that the library has study rooms?"

"Mhm, I'm aware," she said, nodding toward the all-glass boxes populating the library floor.

"But did you know you can reserve them?"

"This is far less exciting than I expected," Sophie said, her enthusiasm waning into a small sigh of impatience.

"I'm not finished," Kate continued, unwilling to let Sophie's lackluster reply sway her mood.

"Yes, Kate. You can reserve them. We both know this. We both also know they're impossible to get because seniors get first priority. What does this have to do with-"

"But did you know they have them in the basement?"

"Yea, but they're dingy and windowless and no one…"

"Yes?" Kate encouraged with a grin.

"No one uses them," Sophie continued, sensing where Kate's master plan was headed.

"And why is that, my beautiful, smart, and witty girlfriend?"

"Because they're practically windowless," Sophie continued eagerly, bypassing the blush-worthy compliments that spilled from Kate.

"And what better way to have a little extra focus for your favorite hobby than in a private room free of distraction from passersby?"

"You might be a genius."

"Might?"

"Even a broken clock is right twice a day," Sophie smirked back, and Kate fought a scowl as she mentally tallied a point under Sophie's name.

* * *

"Cadet Kane!"

Kate sighed as a familiar frustration began simmering through her bloodstream. She was beginning to feel like only the minority of her time was spent feeling anything but annoyance since the semester had started. Between Reyes and Riley, she was finding it harder and harder to cap her temper.

"Yes, sir?"

"You're late," Lieutenant Reyes said, approaching her.

"Wh- it's not even four," Kate countered, her eyes widening in confusion.

"And I distinctly recall saying 0300h."

"And I distinctly recall hearing no such absurdity," Kate shot back before her brain could catch her mouth.

"Twice." The word was immediate but slow, and it trailed off Reyes' tongue with an air of pleasure.

"What?" Kate asked, perplexed by the word.

"You'll run twice today."

"But sir that's-"

"Absurd?"

Kate faltered, unsure how to respond. The course was designed to be grueling and exhaust each cadet who ran it, regardless of fitness. There hadn't been a single weekend she didn't feel every muscle crying to collapse into a two hour nap from running it once, and the thought of having to do it a second time felt virtually impossible.

"Failure to complete either within the allotted time can be made up in a double run next Saturday," Reyes smirked, and Kate. "And on, and on, and on, should your failings continue. Do I make myself clear Cadet Kane?"

Kate swallowed the words she wanted to say, simply responding with the two words she knew would end the conversation: "Yes, sir."

Her anger remained as she watched him walk away toward the start of the course with a growing mix of looming exhaustion and frustration at what the next three plus hours were going to be like.

"He's really got it out for you."

Kate turned to see Cadet Bradley from the Bursar's Office standing within earshot of her and Reye's conversation.

"I told him his hairline wasn't aging well," Kate replied coolly which sent Bradley into a small chuckle.

"Come on, you can run with me and my roommate," he offered.

"What?" Kate eyed him suspiciously.

"If you're going to actually run this thing twice, you're going to need to tag through first on these things," Bradley continued, making reference to the various obstacles like the tapering wall that required all three users to maintain a level of strength and stamina to get through one at a time. "We'll make sure you can do that."

"That… that's ok, I-"

"It's Kate, right?"

"Yea."

"Tim Bradley," he introduced. "That ginger over there is Alex, and he's the second fastest time on the course."

"Who's the first?"

"Me," he smirked back.

"What's the catch?" Kate asked. After weeks of dealing with Riley and Reyes, she wasn't willing to accept anything at face value.

"No catch," Bradley replied, raising his hands in surrender. "But…"

Kate sighed, hearing the qualifier coming.

"But, I would definitely love to see the look on Reyes' face when you make two successful runs at it today," Bradley continued with a mischievous smirk.

* * *

Sophie stared at the piece of paper in her hands, reading and rereading it as a sinking sensation took hold. It was only after the fifth time through that she considered it real. It had shown up overnight, slipped under the door, and Sophie half wondered if it was a prank, but the letter was signed. If there was one thing Sophie didn't doubt, it was that no one on campus would risk expulsion over forging Lieutenant Reyes' name for a prank.

_Cadet Sophia Moore,_

_Effective immediately, you will allocate half your time committed to the Scholar's program toward tutoring and mentoring Cadet Riley Thomas. It is expected that your fortitude and patience be exercised to ensure Cadet Thomas' growth and success under your guidance. Weekly reports of her progress are to be submitted for review. Note with caution that failure to enact change in Cadet Thomas' performance will warrant review and potential probation of your status as Scholar._

_Regards,_

_Lieutenant A. Reyes_

She sighed just as the first sounds from Riley's bed indicated she was awake. Sophie glanced over at Riley's side of the room, taking in the messy state of affairs: food wrappers were entwined with dirty clothes on every surface. It made deciphering where furniture was and wasn't impossible. She scanned a moment longer before her eyes settled on the stack of uncracked textbooks under its own layer of clothing. This was not going to be easy.

* * *

Kate gasped for air as her legs fought the last few steps of the final stretch. She felt her cheeks break into a small smile as she crossed the line, reflecting on all the near misses that had almost stripped her of finishing the second run. She rested her hands at the top of her head, taking in deep breaths as she scanned the course one last time.

"Fail."

The word came seemingly out of nowhere and sent Kate's screaming muscles into a pit of despair as she wordlessly gaped back. She didn't try to hide her surprise as she looked oversand saw Reyes' face in front of her.

"Wh-? But, b… I don't understand," Kate finally managed, the feeling of success from moments earlier being robbed from her.

"I'll see you next Saturday," Reyes replied without explanation.

"But I did what you asked," Kate sputtered back, the seeming insanity of Reyes' words leaving her beyond flummoxed. "I did… I… I ran it; every obstacle."

"I'll see you next Saturday, Cadet Kane." The words were said without remorse and with a finality that left Kate's mind pleading for clarity.

"She ran it twice, sir."

The voice behind Kate caught her by almost as much surprise as Reyes' from moments earlier, and she turned to see Tim Bradley standing at the perimeter of the conversation.

"Cutting corners isn't acceptable: the cones aren't guidelines," Reyes replied coolly.

"I watched her whole run. It was flawless, sir," Tim challenged, giving Kate a brief feeling of pride before shaking herself back to the conversation.

"Keep that up and you'll be running it twice alongside Cadet Kane next week."

"Perhaps I'm failing to see the lesson, sir," Tim replied coolly, standing his ground.

"Tim don't-"

"Congratulations Cadet Bradley. You've just won a second run."

"Wait, stop; he didn't do anything wrong," Kate argued, glancing between the stoic response from both men.

"This no longer concerns you, Cadet Kane."

"What? Yes… it - yes it does," Kate continued, feeling her frustration for Reyes boil.

"And why is that, Cadet Kane?"

"Wh-because you're only punishing him because of me… sir."

"Kate-" Tim began, seeing the glimmer in Reyes' eyes before Kate did.

"Your point?" Reyes asked, ignoring Tim's insertion.

"It concerns me," Kate reasoned.

"So what do you suggest?"

"What?"

"You two seem so eager to involve yourselves in business that isn't yours. Perhaps you should volunteer to take Cadet Bradley's run for him," Reyes said with an antagonistic undertone.

"Ok."

The response was instantaneous and sent a look of shock across both Tim and Lieutenant Reyes' faces.

"Excuse me?" Reyes replied, clearly surprised at Kate's response.

"I assume your offer wasn't rhetorical, _sir_ ," Kate replied, not breaking eye contact with Reyes. The staredown lasted only a moment before Reyes blinked and gave a terse nod.

"I'll see you next Saturday, Cadet Kane. I suggest you get some rest."

Kate watched Reyes retreat toward the course offices as Tim walked toward her.

"You're an idiot," he offered apologetically.

"Probably," Kate smirked. "I know at least one person who is going to agree with you."

* * *

"You what?" Sophie asked, not believing Kate's explanation. It had taken only a few minutes for Kate to get her up to speed when she rolled into the basement study room nearly two hours later than planned. Sophie had assumed Kate simply returned to the dorms for a post-course nap when she came barreling into the room; her annoyance clear.

Kate sighed as she watched the imagined look of bemusement on her girlfriend's face play out in reality. "I said I'd do it."

"You're an idiot."

Kate couldn't help but laugh, breaking the severity of her mood before quickly grimacing as she clutched at her overworked abs.

"Are you a masochist? I don't understand how you can be laughing about this."

"I'm not laughing about this. I'm laughing about being right."

"I don't understand," Sophie said, missing the context from an earlier conversation. Kate waved her hand to dismiss the digression, picking a different path to pursue.

"Can we watch a drama? I don't think I can handle a comedy tonight."

"That stubbornness of yours is going to get you permanently injured. Or-or worse."

"Expelled?" Kate joked back, regretting it as another wave of pain shot through her stomach from breaking into laughter.

"I'm serious, Kate."

"I know, I know," Kate sighed. "Tim didn't deserve that from Reyes though."

Sophie knew Kate was right, but the selfish part of her didn't want to see Kate throwing herself into the crossfires of more conflict. It was bad enough that her experience with Reyes, with the exception of anything to do with Riley Thomas, was a polar opposite to Kate's. Even then, Sophie knew there was a lesson to be learned in his assigning Riley to her. If there was one thing the first few weeks of term had taught her, it was that Reyes had a soft spot for the scholars and offered up one-off challenges to better themselves. That her latest assignment to tutor Riley replaced a portion of her duties as a scholar and wasn't additive spoke to that.

The same couldn't be said for his treatment of Kate. If anything, it was blatantly antagonistic and an abuse of power. To be forced to the sidelines and watch the physical impact that experience was having on Kate's body and the toll it was taking on her mental state only made it harder. Kate's knack for not biting her tongue and maintaining an impossible streak of stubbornness had caused the first four weeks of the semester difficult to navigate. Knowing this, Sophie didn't doubt next week's triple run wasn't going to end well either. She considered saying as much but knew Kate's mind was made up: she was going to do this if it took her the rest of the year to prove it.

She watched from across the table as Kate rolled her quickly tightening neck in a failed attempt to loosen it; she was good at hiding the soreness and exhaustion that came with the course, but this morning had clearly toppled even the fearless Kate Kane.

"Where is it the worst?"

"Everywhere?" Kate sighed in exhaustion, letting her eyes close as her head fell against the chair back.

"Well I've only got two hands," Sophie whispered, causing a startled Kate to flinch in surprise that her girlfriend had just snuck out of her own chair to stand behind her.

"That's supposed to be my thing," Kate muttered grumpily to Sophie's ninja skills before melting into a sigh of surprise as Sophie's fingers reached out and danced to find the knots of muscles in her shoulders. She let out a soft hiss as Sophie's thumb quickly found a particularly harsh offender.

"Sorry," she said, quickly backing off.

"No, no it… it's great," Kate replied, taking a deep calming breath to offset the pain. "I should get in trouble more often," Kate continued between knots.

"Definitely a masochist," Sophie smirked before a knock at the door caused her hands to retreat. "Wait, what time is it?"

"Uh…" Kate replied dumbly, noticing the nervousness around Sophie's demeanor. "Why?"

"You were late," Sophie sighed as she realized the time.

"Did you accidentally double book with your other girlfriend?" Kate joked quietly.

"Very funny," Sophie muttered as a knock came again and an exaggerated sigh of annoyance set Kate's sensors on high alert.

"No."

"It wasn't my idea-"

"Soph, wh-"

"You don't have to stay," Sophie continued, reaching for the door to reveal a bored looking Riley on the other side. "Hey Riley."

Riley glanced at the dingy windowless interior and scoffed in disappointment. "I thought Guantanamo was shut down," she muttered grumpily as Sophie forced a friendly smile and stepped back from the door, revealing Kate to Riley for the first time. Suddenly Riley's face lit up. "Well hello Kate. Are you failing Tactics, too?"

"Uh, no," Kate said, offering as casual a tone as she could muster given the surprise circumstances.

"Oh that's right. Didn't you set the curve on the first test?" Riley pressed, taking joy in the fading smile on Sophie's face as Kate's reaction soured.

"It wasn't a real test," Kate explained lightly, avoiding Sophie's gaze. The truth was that Kate had done more than set the curve. The professor had surprised the entire class with a two-hour pop-exam on day one, and no one else in the course came remotely close to passing. In contrast, Kate breezed through without a problem. Fortunately for everyone, Sophie included, the exam was intended to gauge the class's preparedness and instinct for the subject. That everyone failed so miserably wasn't a surprise; what was a surprise was that Kate aced it.

"Right, but you set the curve."

"I didn't-"

"Aced it, actually," Riley continued, taking joy in seeing Kate negotiate around the truth. "So really, shouldn't _you_ be the one tutoring me?"

"Actually, I was getting ready to leave-"

"But if I'm going to pass, shouldn't someone who knows what she's talking about teach me?"

"You don't exactly set the bar too high. A housefly would be qualified to tutor you-"

"Kate," Sophie interrupted with a warning look.

"Which makes Sophie far and above more than qualified," Kate continued, unphased by the scowl Sophie was shooting at her over Riley's shoulder. "One might even say her time's being wasted."

"Oh, I'm sure you know where you'd like that time put," Riley replied coolly, flashing her a knowing grin.

"Well, you two have fun," Kate said, leaving Riley's remark hanging as she cautiously lifted herself from the table, ignoring the look of confusion that replaced Sophie's scowl. "If I come across a gnat, I'll bring it down as Sophie's replacement. I'm sure it'd be more on your level of thinkin-"

" _Kate_ ," Sophie shot through the staredown between Kate and Riley. "You can go now."

"Your jealousy is showing, Kate," Riley whispered as her head gave a small nod toward Sophie. Kate felt her jaw clench in anger and a twitch of her brow let Riley know she'd landed the blow perfectly.

* * *

"Hey, can I check out your notes for Tac?"

"Uh…" Kate stalled.

"Uh, what?"

"I sort of misplaced them," Kate offered in apology.

"Where did you 'misplace' them?"

"Well, if I knew they wouldn't be misplaced, would they," Kate retorted. It was the following Monday, and Melvin and Kate were holed up in the library together. It was an infrequent occurrence that they studied together. In fact, it was infrequent that Melvin even studied. He'd put on a show of it with Sophie to maintain the illusion of their relationship, but his time was more often spent searching out any one of a hundred other activities around campus. It had struck Kate as odd when he asked her to join him for the afternoon.

"Maybe ask Soph? They're probably better anyways."

Melvin broke into laughter.

"What?"

"It's just cute."

Kate frowned back in annoyance at Melvin's ambiguity, her face set in a glare at the use of 'cute' to describe anything about her.

"Sophie is many things," Melvin continued, treading carefully under the watchful gaze of Kate. "But tactics… are not her strong suit."

"What? She's great at them," Kate challenged which only encouraged Melvin's nervous chuckling.

"You are so blinded by-" Melvin began before halting mid-sentence at a look from Kate. "No, Sophie Moore _survives_ tactics. You on the other hand, were born for them," Melvin explained.

"It wasn't a real test," Kate waved her hand dismissively. "Why do you even need them?"

"I missed today's lecture."

"Really?" Kate said before falling quiet, trying to recall whether she had seen him in the hall. It suddenly explained his want to study. "Why?"

"I had to take a call."

"Oh? Anything your girlfriend should be worried about?" Kate joked, her eyebrows raised in mock seriousness.

"No."

The lack of banter made Kate's face fall, and she found herself questioning Melvin's sober tone.

"Does this have anything to do with you leaving?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to talk-"

"No."

Kate waited a beat for Melvin to say something more.

"Melvin, you know you can tell m-"

"I… I know, Kate," Melvin interrupted, his voice cracking, and while nothing more was included, Kate caught the familiar petrified fear in his voice that she'd known for years of her own life. "I just… if I say it…"

"It's true?"

Melvin nodded, and Kate noticed his eyes were glistening.

"Look, I don't want to pressure you… but whatever this is, you shouldn't walk around with it alone. I'm here for you. Sophie is here for you. Heck, even James for all his lack of subtlety is h-"

"It's Monica."

Kate paused in surprise at Melvin's admission.

"She's sick."

"Melvin…"

"My parents can't afford the bills and help with school."

Kate set her notebook aside and shifted closer to Melvin, placing a comforting arm around his shoulder. In those three sentences Melvin captured the essence of the last four weeks of misery that Kate had watched play out.

"How is she doing?"

Melvin smiled as a tear fell down his cheek. "She's still such an asshole."

Kate smirked as Melvin broke into a sigh of disbelief at the situation.

"After everything she went through this summer… she's the strongest person I've ever met."

"Well she had to be."

Melvin glanced up, giving her a quizzical look.

"Youngest Bennett daughter? Had to keep you on your toes? What did you expect?"

A smile broke through the glistening tears in Melvin's eyes.

"Thanks, Kate."

"I mean it. We're here for you. Just say the word-"

"I know. It's just… I can't even imagine what I'd do if… if…"

"She's the strongest person you know?"

"Yea."

"Then you have nothing to be worried about."

"I hope you're right."

"When have I ever been wrong?"

Melvin's eyes rolled. "Where should I start?"

"About this," Kate clarified.

"That… that is the worst logic…"

"This isn't logic, this is tactical strategy," she winked.

* * *

"Here."

"What's thi- hey, my notes," Kate exclaimed, flipping through the crumpled pages. "Where, uh, where'd you find them?"

"Riley's desk," Sophie explained simply.

"What? Really?"

"Yea… any idea how she might have gotten them?"

Kate shook her head as she tried smoothing out the wrinkles, scoffing as she noted a foreign stain had appeared on one of the sheets. Upon closer inspection she decided it was ketchup.

"You didn't… I don't know, you didn't accidentally leave them somewhere?"

"Soph, it was like, a month ago. It could have been anything," Kate reasoned.

"It was two days," Sophie scowled skeptically.

"I'm just glad they're back."

"Yea, but-"

"Hey, Detective Sophie, give it a rest," Kate teased as she shoved them into her bag. Sophie scoffed lightly before settling into the chair next to Kate.

"What are you working on?" she asked in slight confusion. "Actually… wait, why are you even here? Aren't you supposed to be whipping half our class into shape?"

"I had to postpone to work on that history essay for Chambers," Kate moaned.

"I thought you were done with that?"

"Hm? No, just starting," Kate replied, her gaze honed in on the lackluster set of paragraphs glowing back from her laptop screen.

"But I saw you working on it the other day."

Kate gave her a quizzical look. "I don't think so."

Sophie's face was contorted to mirror the confused look Kate was offering. "I… are you sure?"

Kate let out a small chuckle. "Soph, when have I ever worked ahead on any assignment?"

"I…" Sophie began before she nodded her head, accepting Kate's response. "Yea, I guess."

"I think you've been stretched a bit thin," Kate continued, a look of apology on her face. "You should take the night off. They're doing a social in the quad tonight. Maybe th-"

"But you had your book with you," Sophie interrupted, clearly not ready to let go of the conversation. "You made a joke about how you'd accidentally been spelling 'Desert Storm' as 'dessert storm', and then you went on some monologue about ice cream and how 'Dessert Storm' should be a flavor."

Kate stared uncomfortably back at Sophie.

"And then you spent thirty minutes googling ice cream flavors," Sophie concluded, her memory becoming clearer by the second.

"It was ten at most," Kate countered.

"What's going on?"

"I lost it," Kate admitted simply.

"What?"

"Well," Kate sighed in frustration. "I didn't 'lose it'," she said, pointing at the obvious difficulty of losing a digital document. "I just… didn't save it," she finished lamely.

Sophie gaped back. "Not even like… like a draft of it?"

"It was late, and I went to exit and didn't think and clicked 'no' when it prompted me to save, and then it was gone and… obviously not my best move."

"I'll say. And you think I'm stretched thin. Between this and your notes - not setting a great track record this semester, Kane," Sophie joked before catching herself digressing. A look of seriousness took hold as she analyzed Kate again. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"And let you think I was working ahead?" Kate joked back. "That would destroy my reputation."

When Sophie didn't take the bait Kate sighed into admission. "Because it's embarrassing… and dumb, and you're right. Next time I manage to write an entire essay and then lose it, you'll be the first to know."

"Much better," Sophie replied, her critical gaze breaking into a familiar grin.

* * *

"So you're really going to run it three times?"

"Who told you that?" Kate asked, slightly out of breath.

"Kid in my economics class," Miller replied, more out of breath. "So you doing it?"

"Who told him that?"

"His roommate," he heaved, unfamiliar with the task of talking and running at the same time. "So is that a yes?"

"When?" Kate asked.

"Kate," Miller gasped, stopping mid-stride. "Are you or aren't you?"

"We're not done," Kate called back, leaving him to fall further behind the group as the sun set on campus. "And don't forget, last one back has to spar with me," she called with a smirk.

She chuckled as a groan of realization and disappointment struck Miller. It was clear summer had not been kind to his stamina, and he was barely keeping up with the rest of the squad she'd set up weekly training sessions with. What had started with Miller and Erwin Rice in the fall semester of their first year had grown into a decently-sized group of ten, excluding Kate. The even number made partnering up easy and gave Kate a chance to provide feedback on form and execution. Growing up with an ex-Colonel had already put her through this level of training, and she found coaching to be a great way to solidify that knowledge. It didn't hurt that the once straggling cadets of her year were slowly fighting their way toward the middle and top of the class in their drills.

Entering second year, tactical training was added to the course load which included training in Army Combatives. Over the next three years, various levels of combat would be taught, but the fall semester of year two was where the concept and initial training was introduced. For Kate, there was again the added bonus of growing up around a father who actively sought to prepare her with such training.

She'd breezed through the first few weeks, already well-versed in the Modern Army Combatives that were being taught. The concept was straightforward enough: it was a strategy of combat that didn't require perfect form. Instead, it focused on learning core principles that, with practice, would become intuitive. It typically involved the use of a mock weapon, with the goal being to disarm your opponent, take control with position, and close the distance to finish the fight. For the purposes of their training sessions, Kate excluded use of weapons, instead letting the focus be on methods of takedown.

While much of the in-class sessions had focused on the principles of takedowns, the group had been far more receptive to Kate's method of training. It was very clear early on that setting everyone loose on each other wasn't making an impact. Instead, Kate adjusted her strategy in the second week, focusing on a single pair at a time. One-on-one spars would be set up in the middle of the gym with the rest of the group observing. Kate would actively coach as they went along, often slowing down or pausing the spars to stop a potentially dangerous act or poorly executed technique. The spars weren't about winning, and more often than not the loser walked away with more knowledge and was the better for it. The other eight observers gained the opportunity to watch their peers and focus on skills that the Drill Sergeants glazed over because their focus was on an entire class.

After three or four rounds, Kate would close out the night sparring with whoever came last in a randomly assigned drill that evening. This week, the winner was their 5K run, and the loser was Miller. She never went full-strength or speed on anyone in the group when they sparred, and she was relieved that she was facing Miller tonight. Even days on, she was feeling the effects of the second run, and with only two days until her next run, she was eager for an easy win. She glanced at her watch, noting with relief that they might even finish early as the remainder of the group trailed into the main gym space.

"Am I late?"

The voice sent a chill down Kate's spine as she shot around in surprise, turning to see Riley leaning casually against the boxing ring in the far corner of the gym. She was not dressed for training, and Kate mentally groaned in anticipation of Riley's antics. During the first week of term, back when Kate and others were still trying to make an effort with Riley, she had invited her to join the evening sessions. Riley scoffed faster than Kate could finish asking, and, as weeks progressed and Riley's character crept out of the woodwork, Kate had been relieved Riley turned her down.

"I'd have been here sooner, but someone didn't tell me about the date change. It must have been an honest mistake, because, from the looks of this group, it doesn't discriminate about who it does or doesn't let in."

"Uh, actually we're almost done." Martha replied with a slight hesitation in her voice.

"Almost? Oh good, so there's still time! I want to be a big, strong, tough cadet like all of you," Riley called out, her voice high and soaked in condescension.

"Maybe next week Riley," Kate called out casually.

"But Marsha just said you were still going. So what's next? A big aspirational speech about how trying our hardest is all that matters?"

"It's Martha," Kate corrected, "and no, that's not what we do here."

"Well, I'm all ears," Riley said, leaning against the flexible ropes behind her.

"Look, there's only one drill left. Maybe come back next week," Kate offered, her tone empty and disinterested.

"Oh! What is it?" Riley called out, ignoring Kate's subtle request for her to leave.

"She's sparring with me," Miller called back.

"I do love a good bar brawl," Riley smirked with a wink. "That's all you're good for, right Miller?"

"It's… it's not-"

"Hubbda, blubda, smubda," Riley called back in mockery, causing Miller's face to go red in embarrassment.

"Riley, while I'm normally happy to ignore your half-assed attendance and shitty attitude," Kate began calmly, interrupting Miller before he could respond, "this isn't really the time or place for those distractions."

"Oh, but Kate, if I don't learn, how will I ever pass Tactics?" Riley mused out loud.

"I heard you've got an over-qualified tutor."

"She's certainly qualified for a few things if you know what I mean. In Tactics though? Not so much."

Kate had to force a slow breath to keep from crossing the gym and sending Riley straight into next week.

"I have an idea!"

"That would be a first," a small voice came from behind Kate, and she had to stop herself from joining into the small wave of laughter that swept the rest of the group. She glanced back and noted Erwin's face was especially red, even for his standards, and knew immediately he was the culprit.

"Why don't I spar Kate?"

"Because that's not how this works," Kate replied casually, feeling the support of the group behind her which made her as relaxed as she could be given the circumstances.

That moment of relaxation evaporated when Miller found his voice again: "she'll take you."

Kate turned and shot him a look of annoyance.

"What?" he asked genuinely. "Teach her a lesson."

"Yea, Kate. Teach me a lesson," Riley called back, already skipping across the space to the mat. Kate stared lamely back, not wanting to engage for two reasons: the first was that, while she wasn't versed in Riley's proficiency, she didn't have the energy to engage her antics, and the second was that she didn't want to add fuel to the Riley Show. As much as she could easily rail into her, Kate realized more exertion in self control was going to be required than anything physical.

Kate felt a shove to her right side and watched as Riley bounced off her feet, her hands raised in a boxing position.

"That's not how we-" a swing from Riley forced Kate to sidestep to avoid a fist to the face.

"Riley, we-" Kate tried again before she was forced to lift her forearm to block another strike.

"What's wrong Kate?" Riley cackled between blows. "Can't keep up?"

"She's going easy on you," came Erwin from the group. He wasn't wrong. Having taken up boxing the semester before, he'd been especially fun sparring with a week earlier when Kate had a chance to up her execution to match his skills. That didn't stop Kate from letting out a small groan in frustration as Riley double-down on her blows.

"This isn't an alley fight," Kate muttered angrily.

"Oh-" Riley began, breathing heavily as she threw her body into another punch, "I didn't realize you all were being trained - to be - a bunch - of pussies," she called out between swings.

The sheer speed with which Riley swung forced Kate to maintain a defensive stance.

"Ha! The great - Kate Kane," Riley continued, her throws growing in ferocity. "You always - this pathetic?"

"This - this is about - Riley!" Kate called, her voice raised to a level that made the others stare in pause as Kate blocked and let her elbow strike Riley's ribs, sending her back a few steps.

Riley gave a sinister grin as she rubbed her side. "What's that? This is about what?"

"Control," Kate finished, her eyes set in anger.

"Seems you've lost yours," Riley snickered before closing the gap. Riley persisted, throwing punch after punch for a surprisingly endless string of minutes, and Kate found herself on the defensive, navigating the path toward disarming Riley without causing injury.

A well-timed block knocked Riley off balance and sent her to the ground. A giggle and cheers from the group set Riley's cheeks ablaze in embarrassment. Kate stood between her and the group, noting that they'd managed to navigate beyond the extents of the mat and were now easily twenty yards from everyone else.

Riley lifted herself back up, and Kate noticed something different in Riley's expression. Her eyes glowed with a new kind of danger.

"You're just soo loved, aren't you?"

"What?" Kate asked, barely able to make out the volume Riley was speaking at.

"Your little fan club. Surrounding yourself with the weak to feel exceptional. Is that how you elites become so good at it as adults?"

"Riley, I-"

"Lose or everyone here finds out." The whisper resonated in Kate's ear just long enough to register the request. Her reflexes blocked a strike to her ribs as she let the words sink in. She fell into autopilot, sidestepping and cutting through each wild and untrained strike before it could land.

"No," Kate replied, knocking Riley back.

"Do it," Riley hissed between attacks, her eyes filled with venom. Her hand slipped into her pocket, pulling out a folded up, aged clipping. "Or I tell them."

"Riley-"

"Not so tough now? Interested in seeing how loyal that little group is to you once they get a look at this?"

* * *

"Fail, Cadet Kane."

Kate didn't bother responding. She didn't have the energy to. She glared up at the top of the tapering wall, her lungs heaving in deep gasps as her arms fell fatigued and useless to the side of her body. She'd been doing well. Surprisingly well. Until the roped mud pit drained much of her reserved energy. It was typically navigable in no time: a mud pit with a roped net stretched over it. The goal was to crawl between the mud and rope. It generally was considered one of the easiest obstacles on the course and meant to give cadets a break before facing the tapering wall. Unfortunately for her, it had begun raining in the middle of her second, stirring up a wetter mud that clung to her and the rope, making each crawl all the harder to power through. This made the third wall climb nearly impossible. She made it less than halfway before her arms gave out and she dropped.

She glanced across the course to the small group of fourth years huddled under umbrellas who had been lingering on the sidelines, intrigued by the punishment Lieutenant Reyes was doling out. She felt a pang of disappointment as she returned her gaze to Reyes.

"It's not too late to give up."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sure Cadet Bradley wouldn't take it personally if you forfeited the run back to him," Reyes said. It was a challenge, and it was one Kate wasn't going to take on.

"I'll see you next Saturday, sir," she replied coolly.

* * *

"Did you submit your paper for Chambers?"

Riley stared, unmoved across the table, her arms folded in stubborn refusal to engage with Sophie.

"Mind if I take a look?" Sophie continued, not letting Riley's nonanswers turn the dialogue stagnant.

Riley continued to scowl silently back. It was their fourth session together, and Sophie was struggling to keep her cool which was saying something.

"Look, you don't want to be here. I get that," Sophie sighed.

"Great observation skills. Except you'd have to be pretty dumb not the notice," Riley shot back.

"I have to write a report of your progress every week and submit it to Lieutenant Reyes."

"So you've mentioned," Riley groaned.

"And I won't lie. If we don't make progress I'm going to have to tell him."

"Go ahead."

"Do you not want to be here?"

"For being the 'smartest person' in the year, you sure can be pretty dense."

"I know you don't want to be here," Sophie replied, gesturing at the study room as her patience waned into frustration. "I'm asking if you want to be here at this school."

"Of course," Riley replied easily, but her tone was oozing with condescension. "Who wouldn't feel honored to be a part of this great establishment?"

"So why did you take a year off?"

"That doesn't sound on topic," Riley shot back defensively.

"Oh, right, because we were making so much headway talking about history," Sophie replied sarcastically.

Riley's scowl broke for a moment as a glimmer of surprise took hold. "Hmm, feisty. But I only play twenty questions if it's tit for tat."

"That's not how this is going to work."

"Suit yourself," Riley sighed. "Tell you what," she began, sliding her back toward her and digging around inside. "I'll give you my paper if you let me leave an hour early."

"You're not in a position to negotiate, Riley," Sophie sighed as Riley flashed a thumbdrive at her.

"You sure? Because if I had to guess, your performance is tied to my performance. It'd be a real shame if you had to admit you're not up to the task of tutoring Riley Thomas. At least with this you'll have something to report on," she said, the thumbdrive held delicately between Riley's thumb and forefinger.

Sophie's eyes narrowed slightly. "Thirty minutes."

A smirk broke over Riley's face as she slapped the drive onto the surface and slid it across the table. "Deal."

* * *

Kate opened her eyes with a surprised blink, realizing she'd begun dozing in the darkened room. Voices filled the space, and a glow from the screen cast the slightest of illuminations on the familiar surfaces around her. She quickly shook her head of the sleepiness pulling at her eyelids as she refocused on the story playing out on the screen. She felt a soft squeeze on her thigh and looked over to see Sophie giving her a reassuring grin.

"We can call it early if you want," she offered sympathetically, knowing Kate hadn't rested from the morning's early start.

Kate stubbornly shook her head in defiance.

"Kate-"

"After all the monologuing it took for us to get here? Not a chance," Kate replied easily, slipping a hand over Sophie's. She gave a reassuring smile as Sophie cautiously returned her gaze to the screen.

Kate spent the next few minutes trying to catch up to the plotline, unsure what relationship John Cusack had with Julia Roberts. It only took a few minutes for the missing pieces to make sense and she glanced to her right where Sophie's gaze was focused intently on the screen.

The next few moments were lost as she watched Sophie's silhouette against the soft glow of the movie, and Kate felt herself relax as she did. For as exhausted as she was, she wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste.

After weeks of pleading, Kate had finally convinced Sophie that spending time alone in their rooms would not end the world. As Riley was prone to never leaving 419 except to cause mayhem, that left Kate's room as the obvious choice. Kate casually confirmed with Chelsea that she'd be spending the day with Tony and company over at the student union followed by a night at Wilfred which confirmed a window of time to make their own plans.

Unfortunately, neither Kate nor Sophie's schedules allowed a daytime hangout. Kate was once again facing grueling hours on the fourth-year course, and Sophie was off tending to her newly bestowed obligations of tutoring Riley toward passable grades. This made plans before nightfall nearly impossible as Kate's tasks filled the morning and Sophie's the afternoon, and even now the last traces of the sun were barely visible as they faded over the tree line.

Kate felt her mouth turn into a small grin as she watched Sophie's intense concentration furrow into a frown.

"What?" Kate asked, calling out the scrunched look of disappointment stuck on Sophie's face.

"Huh?" Sophie asked, tearing her eyes from the screen to gaze back at Kate.

"What's up over there?" Kate smirked, lifting her hand to gesture at Sophie's face. "You look like it's your first day working for Gotham Sanitation."

"She's… she's just such an unlikable character in this one," Sophie complained.

Kate let out a laugh of surprise as she registered Sophie's upset.

"What?"

"I just… I just assumed it was going to be something real," Kate said through her dwindling chuckle.

"What isn't real about this?"

"Well, normally you reserve this particular scowl for world-level problems."

"What? That's not true."

Kate laughed.

"I scowl for normal things. It's not always 'world-level,'" Sophie replied, using her fingers as quotes for emphasis.

"Yes, but you have three levels of scowl. This is a level three."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry I don't have a universal scowl like you do," Sophie glared back.

"Yea, see? That's a level one scowl," Kate smirked.

"It's nothing."

"It looks like something."

"It's… It's Catherine."

"Sophie."

"Kate."

"It's a movie."

"Yea, but…" Sophie sighed in disgruntlement, crossing her arms in frustration at the character on screen.

"What's this really about?"

"Why does it have to be something more? Why can't I just be annoyed at the way Catherine treats her sister. She makes her walk around on eggshells. She makes _everyone_ walk around on eggshells."

Kate watched in growing amusement at Sophie's outburst. "So this is about Riley."

Sophie shot Kate a look that made her annoyance at Kate's ability to read her clear.

"Soph, you can tell me."

Sophie looked like she might not answer, staring back at the screen but not absorbing anything flashing on it.

"Riley is…" Sophie finally began.

"The worst?"

"There's something about her. She just… I don't know; she makes me feel uneasy. Like everything she says has some double meaning, and she's just baiting me along. And she's always so… so mean; unwarranted and unsolicited," Sophie began before pausing in thought. "Like, today, she spent an hour unresponsive, then tried to make it a game before negotiating early release."

"Early release?" Kate snickered.

"She wanted to leave an hour early in exchange for a copy of her essay for Chambers."

"What? Did… did you let her?"

Sophie shook her head in annoyance as she reflected on the afternoon's conversation. "I let her off thirty minutes early. And don't give me that look-"

"What look?"

"I know I shouldn't have."

"There was no look," Kate replied.

"But I just…"

"Soph, I didn't give a look. I get it," Kate offered by way of apology. "She's not the easiest person."

"Such an understatement," Sophie muttered, and Kate let out a small chuckle of understanding. "But honestly it's not even just her. I mean, it is and it isn't," Sophie continued. "It's this school and this policy. It's so backwards that we're literally being trained to face life or death scenarios, but I'm more worried about the fact that I don't trust myself around you in public because what if someone sees or catches us or… even now, there's an entire couch between us because Chelsea might stumble in any second."

Sophie sighed, exhausted by the act they'd been playing for weeks.

"We can change it," Kate offered.

"No," Sophie replied stubbornly.

"It's not too late."

"It's fine."

"We're only thirty minutes into it. Could end the suffering now-"

"I said it's fine," Sophie scowled grumpily.

Without a second thought, Kate slid across the couch, breaking rule number three. Sophie reacted like she might jump out of her skin in terror as she glanced at the closed door to Kate's dorm.

"Kate," she hissed, crawling away from Kate's reach.

" _Sophie_ ," Kate whispered in mock seriousness as she closed in on her target.

"Don't- don't you dare-"

"What?" Kate asked innocently, pinning Sophie against the arm of the couch.

"We agreed-"

"But what's life without breaking a few eggshells?" Kate replied, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

"A degree. It's called a… a… de..."

"Hm?" Kate asked, her lips grazing Sophie's neck.

"Kate…"

"Yes?" Kate continued.

"You're not playing fair."

"Fairly," Kate corrected, grinning softly against Sophie's skin, feeling Sophie squirm in distracted frustration.

The sound of laughter and keys on the other side of the door sent Sophie bolting off the couch and back to the opposite side where Kate had previously been sitting. She glanced in anxious-ridden surprise as Kate didn't budge. Instead, she offered a hesitant glance and sheepish grin back.

The laughter quickly turned into scoffs of frustration as Kate slowly rose from the couch, her eyes now focused intensely on the door. A small smirk broke out when she saw the knob catch lamely with every attempt Chelsea made to enter.

"Kate, what-"

"Uh…" Kate began, turning back toward Sophie with a familiar look of apology on her face. "Ok… don't be mad," Kate pleaded briefly.

"Name one time you've begun a conversation with that line that's ever ended well," Sophie gaped back as Kate walked across the room to the door.

"Hey, Chelsea," Kate said at normal volume, ignoring the scowl of disapproval coming from Sophie.

"Kate? Is that you?"

"Yea," Kate rolled her eyes, not sure who else Chelsea expected on the other side of the door. "Sophie, too," she confessed easily which only caused Sophie's scowl to double down.

"The door won't open."

"I know. There's… there's something wrong with the handle. We've already spent over an hour trying to get it to open, but no dice," Kate replied with practiced reasoning.

"What did you do?" Sophie whispered from the couch, her tone a mix of annoyance and curiosity.

Kate lifted her hand in a 'hold on a second' gesture.

"I called maintenance but they won't send anyone out this late. They said they'd have someone check it first thing tomorrow."

"So you're trapped?" Chelsea balked.

"Looks like it," Kate sighed dramatically, winking at Sophie's slowly fading scowl.

"What if we just bust down the door?" It was Tony's voice.

Kate opened her mouth to deflect the option, but Chelsea beat her to it. "And then what? We just sleep without a door?"

"What about the windows?" Tony offered, clearly looking for an action story to fill his Saturday night.

"They've got the screens in them," Kate called back with feigned exasperation. "And even still, we'd have no way of getting back in the room."

"Exactly, and then where would Kate sleep? The lounge?" Chelsea scoffed at her boyfriend, already factoring in that she had a place to crash.

"Look, we're fine hunkering down for the night-" Kate began, smirking at Sophie who remained perched on the couch beginning to catch up to Kate's masterplan. "Sophie is a bit peeved she won't get to do anymore studying, but-"

"Ugh, she shouldn't be studying on a Saturday night anyway," Chelsea scoffed through the door. Kate raised a thumb toward Sophie in support of this. "But if she really needs to, she can use my books," Chelsea added, clearly amending her words in response to the scowl of disapproval Tony was likely offering. A quick scowl of disapproval from Kate sent Sophie's eyes rolling.

"Uh, thanks," Sophie called through the door. "Kate has copies too, but I might take you up on that."

"Well don't do it for too long. You're already setting the curve in every class," Chelsea admonished back, causing a small smile of success to grace Sophie's face.

"Yea, so… I guess maybe just crash with Tony tonight?" Kate offered up as the obvious solution, pivoting back toward her larger agenda.

"Yea, totally. And Sophie, feel free to use my bed. No need to suffer on that couch all night."

"Thanks, Chelsea."

"If you need anything just shout."

"Yea, I'm happy to kick this thing in," Tony offered.

"Noted, thanks, man," Kate replied, holding back a heavy layer of sarcasm as she feigned relief at the thought of a big, burly man offering to save them.

Sophie waited until the sounds of bickering faded before speaking.

"What did you do?"

"Wha- me?" Kate asked innocently. If not for the slight glimmer in her eyes and the smirk playing at the edges of her mouth, Sophie might have believed her.

Sophie rose from the couch, slowly making her way toward Kate who was struggling to hold her poker face steady. "Yes, you."

"I… was… you know these old dorms aren't-"

Kate's pathetic excuse was interrupted by Sophie's lips, settling softly against Kate's. Kate tried desperately to restrain herself from melting into the softness of them, sensing a trap. Just as she began to let her guard down, Sophie pulled back, and Kate cursed softly at Sophie's ability to sense the slight changes in Kate's demeanor.

"The old dorms are what?" Sophie whispered against Kate's mouth.

"They are… uh… uhm," Kate began, struggling to form words as Sophie's lips forged a path along her jawline, mimicking Kate's actions from minutes earlier.

"Hm?" Sophie teased as Kate's breath caught again.

"Old," Kate finally formulated. "Old handles and - and things."

"So articulate."

The next set of countless minutes were spent with Sophie slowly teasing Kate toward a passionate make out session which ended with them falling into each other's embrace on the couch, gasping for air.

"So how'd you do it?" Sophie asked again, laying on top of Kate as the white noise and light of the movie play forgotten in the background and her lips played against Kate's neck.

"A magician never reveals her secrets," Kate snickered back.

"So... if there's a fire…" Sophie asked between kisses.

Kate shrugged, unable to find a clever retort.

"Or... I don't know… one of us has to… to go to the bathroom."

"You are very distracting," Kate muttered, her focus entirely on Sophie's movements.

"The door does still work, right?" Sophie asked, stopping her progress with a hint of concern about how far Kate might have gone for a night alone.

"Well, that depends," Kate replied, enjoying Sophie's sudden leap of logic.

"On what?" Sophie asked, lifting herself to meet Kate's gaze.

"If you behave."

It was meant as a joke, but something about the tone in Kate's voice, their sudden access to privacy, and weeks of limited contact sent Sophie in a tailspin as she looked down into her girlfriend's eyes.

"And if I don't?" she offered back, Kate's eyes widening as a small grin unfolded across her face.

"Then you may be stuck with me forever."

"You'd make a terrible villain."

"Why's that?"

"Because that's not a punishment."


	4. Chapter 4

It was late in the morning; far later than Sophie typically let herself sleep in. Technically she wasn't sleeping though. Instead she had spent the last unknown minutes watching Kate sleep as the morning light glowed more intensely across the unfamiliar room. The half she was on felt recognizable enough: it was riddled with the comfort of Kate's belongings. On the other half was quite the opposite. Like Riley, Chelsea had a very unique way of decorating. Unlike Riley, though, her style didn't include piles of laundry and forgotten Cheeto bags. Instead, it included a heavy use of pastels and floral patterns, and the juxtaposition of such a backdrop to Kate sleeping next to her did not go unnoticed.

They were crammed into the tiny twin bed, but after months of experience from the semester prior, they had also learned how to navigate its limitations. That meant defaulting to one of three positions and having the skills to maneuver between them without waking the other. It was a hurdle she didn't mind jumping through if it meant having this proximity to the gently sleeping form next to her.

The night before had taken her by surprise, and she smirked at Kate's ability to weave together her plan and deploy it at the right moment. While a part of her was filled with the usual irritation that came with Kate keeping her in the dark about some master plan, a bigger part of her knew that on this occasion, that was the point; it was intended as a surprise.

For all of the times they'd fought and bickered about how little time they had, moments like this made it worth it. Sophie felt comforted by the steady, rhythmic breathing of Kate laying next to her, and she was struck by how lucky she felt to have the brilliant, stubborn, and caring person in her life, exhausting as those things sometimes were. She paused at this thought, realizing 'in her life' wasn't enough. It was that she was also able to have and share these most intimate moments with her, and,now that she had it, she couldn't imagine a life or a world without that.

"Hi," Sophie smiled as Kate stirred from her sleep.

"Morning," Kate muttered groggily before leaning in to capture Sophie's lips into a soft, sleepy kiss.

"Thank you," Sophie whispered when Kate pulled back.

"That wasn't even my best work," Kate teased, her eyes still half-closed as she shifted to remove every last remaining fraction of inches between her and Sophie.

"I meant for… this," Sophie spoke generally of the night. "All of it. That you even thought of this is… I just…" she paused, feeling a wave of emotion from her private thoughts moments earlier catching in her throat and stinging her eyes.

"Sophie Moore, please don't tell me I've done something to make you cry again," Kate whispered, seeing Sophie fight them back.

"Don't worry. These are happy," Sophie replied as one broke free, and Kate's hand reached up to wipe it clear.

"Well, in that case, I hope I make you cry a river," Kate said before breaking into a laugh as Sophie winced in pain at the corny line.

"Not with those pick-up lines," Sophie groaned, snuggling into Kate's chest as Kate's arm wrapped around to her back to pull her closer. They lay in silence for a few minutes, lost in the rare moment of being safely alone, Sophie wrapped around Kate as Kate's hand idly danced circles over Sophie's back with the morning light shedding itself onto the room's walls.

For Kate, the silence provided an opportunity to reflect on the memories of the night before that began replaying in her mind.

_"So how'd you do it?" Sophie asked, finally breaking from Kate's lips and returning to their unfinished conversation._

_Kate shook her head, a smirk of pride that left Sophie unsatisfied._

_"Super glue?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Like 'nope' you didn't use super glue or 'nope' you're not going to tell me?"_

_Kate pressed her lips firmly shut, her cheeks red with the suppressed laughter she was keeping in at the look of frustration Sophie was giving off._

_"Are we really stuck in here until maintenance shows up?"_

_"Sick of me already?"_

" _Not even close," Sophie whispered. "But you gave me a lot of Scotch, and-"_

_Kate's laughter interrupted Sophie's suggestion, and she rolled to sit up, leaving Sophie snickering on the couch._

" _But you can't look," Kate demanded, offering a sly leer._

" _I wouldn't dream of it," Sophie replied as Kate crossed the room to the door. She used her body to block whatever activity was going on that released the lock, and let the light from the hall flood into the dim room. Kate poked her head out, checking both directions before giving Sophie the go-ahead to sneak off to the bathroom. Sophie slipped behind Kate, giving her a small squeeze and peck on the cheek before dashing off, and Kate couldn't help but stare fondly, keeping watch over the hall until she was back._

She lay lost in thought, taking in the familiar comfort of Sophie lying next to her, reflecting on the shared night together, and dreading the looming countdown that would soon end that time. Her mind raced through the handful of other ideas she'd stewed up to get her girlfriend alone when the sudden flinch from Sophie pulled her back to reality.

Kate felt her hand instantly recoil, realizing she'd snaked her fingers under the back of Sophie's shirt. It had been subconscious, and Kate felt mortified, a panicked apology on her tongue.

"Sorry, I-"

"No," Sophie quickly interrupted, feeling her cheeks burn with nerves. "I just… it was a surprise."

It wasn't a rejection, and Kate felt Sophie slowly relax back into their previous state. She felt her own fingers hesitate, eyeing Sophie carefully for a sign she wasn't comfortable before slowly returning her hand to the smooth, warm skin. Her awareness was heightened as she prepared herself to stop at the first sign of hesitation. But none existed, and Kate allowed her fingers to slide up the uninterrupted path of Sophie's back.

While they'd had conversations about 'what-ifs' and the idea of taking next steps, the semester hadn't garnered many opportunities to experiment. The last thing Kate wanted was to seem like she was pressuring Sophie into anything on the one instance of privacy all semester, and she felt growing anxiety that she was doing just that.

"I… is this-?" Kate whispered, still not believing Sophie was fully comfortable with the act. She paused her hand and let it sit suspended just away from Sophie's skin.

She felt Sophie's head nod into her chest. "It feels nice."

Kate noted there was no hesitation or forced lightness in Sophie's voice, and a relief swelled through Kate as she lowered the pads of her fingers back onto the new terrain of Sophie's skin she'd yet to explore. There was a warmth and delicateness about it, and Kate couldn't recall ever feeling anything so soft in her life. She glanced at the door, relieved at the temporary privacy, and sneaking a chance at imagining a world where this was every morning.

"I swapped the keys," Kate said softly after a moment.

"Hm?"

"The lock is fine. I just swapped Chelsea's key. So when she comes back I'll just give it back to her-"

"And she'll think the lock was changed."

"Right."

Kate felt Sophie smile. "Smart."

"Maybe even 'genius'?"

"Don't push your luck."

"I'll take whatever I can get. That was a compliment, right?"

"It's been known to happen," Sophie replied jokingly.

Kate sighed in thought while her fingers absorbed and memorized every square inch of Sophie's skin.

"I'm glad you stayed," Kate said after another minute of silence.

"Hm?"

"Last night. I… well, I was worried you'd - that you wouldn't exactly be thrilled-"

"I wasn't," Sophie interrupted.

"Oh. Er… w-why?"

"Because you waited until halfway through the movie to tell me."

"Huh?"

"You made me spend forty minutes on the far end of your couch all alone," Sophie teased, squeezing her arm tighter around Kate. "What if Chelsea didn't come back until midnight?"

Kate chuckled, "Actually that hadn't crossed my mind."

Sophie muttered something too low for Kate to hear, and Kate glanced at the scowl on Sophie's face.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"What'd you say?"

"I said 'some execution plan'," she admitted.

"Hey, I took care of the big obstacles."

"Oh, I see. So just limited follow-through," Sophie replied dryly. "And to think you're supposed to be the best in tac of our year."

"Supposed to be? Sophie Moore haven't you heard? I am the best there's ever been," Kate replied with an air of mock superiority.

"How did I get so lucky to find such a level-headed, humble person?"

"I'm quite the catch. Like a unicorn, or a phoenix, or a man-bear-pig, or… or a-"

"A guppy?"

* * *

"Well don't you look pleased with yourself," Melvin grinned from across the mess hall.

Kate shrugged as she grabbed a tray and stepped over to the salad bar he was engaged with.

"Good night?"

"Definitely top ten."

"You're practically glowing."

"That's just my natural complexion," Kate smirked as she mimicked Melvin's tonging of greenery onto a plate.

"No, that's the glow of someone who just got lucky," Melvin muttered softly with a wink and a less than subtle request for details. That wink quickly turned to disdain as Kate shook her head. "Wh-"

"It didn't come up."

"Didn't come is more like it," Melvin practically pouted.

"You know my having sex with Sophie doesn't mean you're having sex, right?" Kate offered, perplexed by Melvin's ongoing fascination with the topic.

"I know but… ok, so, James and I-"

"You're kidding. _Another_ bet?" Kate moaned.

"This one was way more straightforward. You girls clearly make sex more complicated than it needs to be-"

"I really doubt that-"

"-with your numbers and counting and… and ability to… anyway, we made it easier this time."

"Oh? Well, I'm glad to hear," Kate replied dryly.

"Yea, me too," Melvin said, caught up in his explanation and not catching the lack of interest emanating from Kate. "So basically it's a straight yes or no."

"To what?"

"Whether you had sex."

"I take it you lost."

"I trusted my gut," Melvin said defensively. "It's not my fault you two are waging a war for the most built up sexual tension of any couple in the history of ever, ever."

Kate's face had fallen into a blank stare as Melvin explained, and it continued but with a small squint of speculation.

"How much did you lose?"

"$20 and dorm cleaning duties for a month," Melvin sighed, piling a disproportionately large amount of cheese onto his salad as Kate let out a chuckle.

* * *

"So?"

"It was good," Sophie admitted, sliding the copy of the essay back to Riley. She watched as Riley snatched the papers and shoved them back into her bag. From what Lieutenant Reyes had said, she expected Riley's work to be somewhat lackluster, but her essay for Chambers had surprised her. More than that, it had impressed her. There was a nuanced way with which she built her argument for the short-term success of Desert Storm followed by the long-term impacts riddled with political and international tensions. "Just give it a proof-read next time; there were a few errors that spell check won't pick up: while 'dessert' is technically a word, it really doesn't fit with the essay," she said lightly, trying to ease the tension that comprised these sessions.

"What?" Riley asked, barely paying attention to Sophie.

"You… you spelled 'desert' with two s's," Sophie explained.

She may have been more judgemental about the error if her own girlfriend hadn't fallen for the same mistake. Instead, she maintained a light tone about the errors, hoping that Riley might engage with more than her typical-

"Oh," she replied with a shrug of disinterest.

"Uh… so how about Tactical?"

"Already did it."

"Really? Mind if I take a look?"

Riley let out a chuckle of amusement, leaving Sophie to stare back in confusion.

"Do… do you have the assignment here or-?"

"Oh, I didn't mean I did the assignment," Riley grinned back. "I was talking about real-world experience. Unfortunately knocking someone down a peg and bruising her pride isn't exactly something you can show on paper. Otherwise I'd have a novel."

* * *

"I can already tell this isn't going to be funny," Melvin chimed in, shaking his head at James' undying attempts to be clever.

"Hold on, I'll get there. So then the bartender asks the duck - hey, I'm not finished with the punchline yet!" James nearly shouted as Kate pivoted away from the group.

"Sorry, just… hang on," Kate interrupted, her face set in a scowl as she looked across the hallway toward a very red-faced Martha being stared down by none other than Riley Thomas.

"Come on Kate; just leave it-" James chimed in before she pivoted toward the two. He let out a sigh of impatience. "Why does she always do this?"

"Oh, I don't know James - maybe because she cares about other human beings?" Melvin offered as Sophie broke into a knowing chuckle. "You going to-?"

"Yea," Sophie replied, as she parted ways with the other two to follow Kate's trajectory and provide a shadowy presence to the confrontation.

To say Kate had taken on the mantle of handling Riley was an understatement. There was almost a sixth sense for Kate when it came to Riley's bullying, and she was especially hawkish when it included the verbal taunting that seemed to flow neverending toward their peers.

"Can I help you Katherine?"

They were the first words Sophie was able to decipher as she closed in on the threesome. She glanced around and saw Miller, Chelsea, and Erwin on the sidelines, relieved that Kate had intervened but clearly at the ready to jump in with a moment's notice.

"Just wondering when you were going to start using that wit of yours in the classroom," Kate said, serving a soft volley toward Riley. More often than not, the confrontation alone was enough to get Riley to back off, and Sophie could tell Kate was working off that experience in her efforts to extinguish the fire before it could erupt into something more.

"How's that jaw?" Riley retorted, the vagueness of her response lost on Sophie.

"Never better," Kate replied without hesitation.

"I figured with a knock-out like that you'd be out a week."

"And you overestimate your strength."

"Kate," Sophie began, catching Kate by surprise; it was clear she hadn't noticed her following. "what is she talking ab-"

Sophie's question was drowned out by a cackle from Riley. "Oh, she doesn't know? The entire campus is talking about it, but Sophie Moore doesn't know?"

Sophie's gaze jumped between Riley and Kate before landing on the looks of hesitation from the group next to her.

"Leaving my best moves untapped, I, in the most spectacular fashion, bested Kate Kane on the mat last week."

"S-sorry?" Sophie gaped back in surprise.

"And to think, you've been living in the dark; I can't imagine why Kate wouldn't tell you about this. Must be her wounded pride," Riley continued, and in a flash Sophie recognized Riley's comment from a day earlier. "It's cute, really," Riley continued, shooting Kate a wink. "How you need to weave your little story to look good for Sophia."

"Kate wh… what is she talking about?" Sophie said softly, her own nerves growing at Riley's insinuations.

"Oh, don't worry. It's a Kane thing," Riley joked.

"Riley, I think that's enough for today," Kate tried intervening. "You've had your fun, now let's get to class."

"No, no, no, Kane, I've only just started. Martha was just sharing a bit of news with me. She can be quite dense, but you all know that right?"

Sophie saw Martha's cheeks stoop to a darker shade of red out of the corner of her eye.

"Enough," Kate cut in, her tone harsher than a moment earlier. All lightness had disappeared from Kate's eyes as they narrowed in on Riley. "You're not impressing anyone, Riley."

"Look at you, the little savior. I was just getting to my punchline, but you've made it for me. Martha told me about your sister," Riley said, her gaze set on Kate with growing satisfaction at the small flaws showing through her otherwise stoic facade. Sophie saw the muscles in her jawline clench and an eyebrow flinch at the direction Riley was headed.

"It's not - I didn't mean to-" Martha interjected, her eyes staring pleadingly between Riley and Kate.

"Is that why you do it? You think if you stand up for enough of these nobodies that it will be make up for the fact you let your sister die alone and afraid in that rive-"

Before anyone could react, Kate's fist went flying, striking Riley directly in the stomach, causing a grunt of surprise before she doubled over in pain.

" _Kate_ ," Sophie said stunned, her voice barely above a whisper as she volleyed her gaze between Kate and Riley. Kate was seething while Riley nearly collapsed to the ground. "Wh-"

"Cadet Kane."

Everyone looked up, jolted from Kate's actions with another wave of surprise, and Sophie felt her heart catch in her throat as Lieutenant Reyes came marching down the hall toward the scene. She glanced back at Kate who seemed to be mentally catching up with her actions.

"My office. Now."

No one said a word as Kate hesitated for only a second before she silently fell into step behind Reyes, accepting the unintended consequences of her actions without a fight.

"Moore, make sure Cadet Thomas is ok," he ordered tersely.

"Y-yes sir," Sophie muttered, shooting Kate a cautious glance, but Kate's focus was on the chipping laminate floor at her feet, her cheeks flush with… Sophie couldn't quite make out. What she did know was that this was a side of Kate she'd never seen before, and a cloud of worry loomed at what Lieutenant Reyes would have to say about it.

xxx

"I would assign you another course run, but you've tallied up so many it wouldn't make much of a difference," Reyes said as he shut the door and settled into the chair behind his desk. Kate stood at the doorway, too annoyed to respond with her own clever quip.

"What happened," Reyes asked in the form of a command.

"A-a conflict of opinion, sir," Kate replied, staring ahead at the wall behind Reyes.

"And who was right?"

"Does it matter?" Kate asked, her eyes darting toward Reyes.

Reyes gave the slightest of smirks in amusement. "There's a lot of your father in you."

Kate stared back quizzically, unsure how to respond. Instead she remained silent.

"Give me a play-by-play."

Kate faltered at the unexpected tone from Reyes. It wasn't accusatory, which only made Kate more suspicious of the request.

"I don't see how that's relevant, sir."

"And I don't think you're in a position to make that assessment, Cadet Kane. I have every reason to build a case toward your expulsion as it is. You are delinquent, unwilling to take direction, and engaging and enacting physical violence towards others."

"If that's the case, then surely a play-by-play is a waste of both our time."

"It's a shame. You know, your father is a great man-"

"I'll be sure to pass along the message," Kate interrupted, her gaze now focused on Reyes in challenge.

"But he wasn't always. I suppose history has a way of repeating itself."

Kate blinked in surprise.

"We all have our weaknesses, Kate," Reyes continued, sending her into another surprise at his use of her first name. "You need to do a better job of dealing with yours."

"I… I don't understand."

"You are to make amends with Cadet Thomas."

"Sir, I don't think-"

"If I do not see measurable attempts to resolve your issues with her, a formal inquiry into your status at this academy will be undertaken, and the powers that be will determine your fate," Reyes said, his tone even and in warning. "You're dismissed."

"Wh...sir?"

"Did I stutter?" Reyes asked, his face blank of expression.

"N-no, sir."

"Then get out of my office."

xxx

"Kate," Sophie announced in surprise as her girlfriend appeared next to her. "Hey," she whispered softly, to avoid a scene as Chambers monologued at the front of the room.

Kate nodded in acknowledgment before settling into the seat next to her.

"How… wh-what happened?" Sophie continued, distracted from Professor Chambers' tangent onto the current events in Syria.

"I'm dealing with it," Kate replied softly, unzipping her bag and pulling out her notepad.

"Kate, I'm not… are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"But wh-"

"Drop it, will you?" Kate whispered, her voice strained in lingering frustration.

Sophie paused for a moment, watching Kate flip through to some ambiguous blank page.

"I just-"

"Sophie," Kate practically hissed, shooting down Sophie's efforts.

The last twenty minutes of the class were spent in sustained silence, Sophie passing Kate furtive glances while Kate remained positively focused on the notebook in front of her, not bothering to write down any of the lecture resonating off the walls. Finally the class came to a close, and Kate quickly replaced the unused notepad back into her bag, silently standing to join the masses as they left.

"Kate," came Melvin's voice in surprise as they met in the aisle. "Hey, I didn't see you…" he trailed off as he met Sophie's glance of warning, letting Kate pass without finishing his sentence. He mouthed 'what's wrong' in a silent gesture to Sophie who shook her head. She slowed to fall out of Kate's earshot.

"I don't know."

"Want any help?"

"No, no… I… it's fine."

"Ok… Just shout," Melvin offered.

"Thanks," Sophie responded gratefully before trekking off after her moody better half.

Kate was just nearing the building's entrance when the sound of Sophie's voice slowed her.

"Hey," Sophie said, catching up to her. "How was-"

"I really don't want to talk about it."

"Ok, but-"

"But nothing," Kate continued, her focus on the path in front of her. She felt a pull on her arm and halted mid-step to see Sophie's hand on her, gesturing toward an empty classroom. Before Kate could argue, she felt another tug from Sophie to follow her.

Once inside, Sophie latched the door, the buzz of the hall fading as the last of the students made their way out of the building.

"I'm worried, ok?"

"Ok," Kate acknowledged but stared blankly back, clearly not interested in the conversation. Her focus fell toward the closed door with a small look of longing.

"Kate."

"What?" Kate asked, her voice trending away from frustration and toward stoic numbness.

"I… I just… What Riley said… I'm worried. I-I don't know," Sophie admitted, staring into the unresponsive look in Kate's eyes.

"There is nothing to worry about."

"Was she telling the truth?"

"About what?"

"Last week with… she said she 'bested' you. What… what did she mean?"

"She's being Riley; she's just trying to start something."

"Kate, please don't lie to me," Sophie replied, seeing through the subtle ways Kate tried to deflect her way out of the truth.

"It was nothing," Kate began in exasperation at Sophie's pressing. "It was the end of the night; she-she got one over on me."

Sophie stuttered in disbelief. "Y-you mean… what do you mean?"

"Why is this so important?"

"Because apparently everyone else knows, Kate," Sophie replied, her tone becoming sharp as a feeling of betrayal sank in. "And clearly it hasn't crossed yours or anyone else's mind to tell me."

Kate leaned against the desk nearest her with a sigh.

"It wasn't anything," Kate began. "It was the end of last week's training session, and she just… I don't know, she just appeared. I was supposed to spar with Miller, but then it ended up being Riley."

"And she beat you?" Sophie asked, trying to maintain an even tone, but she was genuinely surprised. As much as Sophie worked to be the best at everything, even she couldn't ignore the fact Kate's skills were lightyears better than anyone else when it came to combat.

"She got… I wasn't… I wasn't paying attention."

Silence fell as Sophie scowled in thought.

"This keeps happening," Sophie finally said after scanning through the last few weeks.

"What?"

"You… you're - you're not normally like this."

"Like what?" Kate asked, genuinely taken aback by Sophie's remark.

"You haven't been yourself. You're typically so on top of everything-"

"That's not even remotely true."

"Fine, but this is… this is different, and I just… it's just Riley, Kate. I know she… I know her comment about Beth was a cheap dig; no one would disagree with that, and no one who knows you would take her seriously, and... how could you let her get to you like that? You aren't-"

"I know," Kate interrupted, her frustrations from earlier fueling her reply.

"You've just always been more disciplined than that. Riley means nothing; she just says stuff to get a reaction. Her words and actions mean nothing, and you know better. You're letting her get to yo-"

"You don't think I know that?"

"I'm just… sometimes it feels like you've forgotten that, Kate. She's a bully, and every time you let her get to you is a win for her. It's one more excuse for Reyes to-"

"I already have one Jacob Kane in my life. I don't need another," Kate replied coldly, disinterested in a lecture from her girlfriend.

Sophie flinched at Kate's words before falling into silence, observing Kate's expression. Seeing her with Riley and now in her words to Sophie, she felt something very different radiating from Kate. It was practically unheard of for Kate to get angry and lash out. Frustration, sure, but never the angry hatred she felt reverberating from her.

"Hey," Sophie began softly.

"What?" Kate practically spat out. It had the flavor of aggression from before, but the reaction of her face quickly faded into regret, and Sophie watched as Kate folded into a look of apology. "I'm sorry."

"Kate," Sophie repeated, letting her fingers risk grazing Kate's. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing. I just… she shouldn't be allowed to just say things like that without-"

"I know," Sophie interrupted, keeping her voice as even as possible. "I get it. But…"

Kate sighed in exasperation. "But what?"

"You don't need to protect everyone. As much as I hate to agree with Riley, she's kind of right about that. Plus Reyes seems to have it out for you, and-"

"Standing up to a bully isn't protecting anyone, Soph. It's just common sense."

"It stopped making common sense when you got physical, Kate," Sophie shot back, her voice cutting through Kate's resolve.

They glared at each other, but Sophie could already see the fight leaving Kate.

"Is she ok?"

"She moaned bloody murder the entire walk to medical, but yea, she's completely fine."

Sophie watched Kate give a nod of understanding as she let out the breath of concern she'd been holding in.

"What are you doing tonight?"

"What?" Kate replied, caught off guard by the question.

"What are you doing tonight?" Sophie repeated calmly.

"I… sleeping, probably? Why?"

"Let's do something."

"Wh…" Kate began, her confusion and frustration fading as she stared into Sophie's unwavering gaze. "You know it's Wednesday, right?"

"Yes. And since you keep ruining our Friday nights…"

"Hey," Kate retorted in defense, trying to stay serious as she watched a smirk betray Sophie's face. WIth it, she felt her own resolve from moments earlier deteriorate entirely. "Did you - any ideas or…?"

"Yes."

"Yea?" Kate asked, her surprise growing by the moment.

Sophie nodded. "But it requires your bike."

* * *

"Woa, I give up!" Melvin cried, feigning terror as Kate entered the room. She offered a quick eye roll before plopping down next to him on the couch.

"I thought you would have darted toward the classroom."

"And miss out on you pummeling Riley Thomas into next week?"

"It wasn't a pummeling."

"That's not the story I've been telling," Melvin smirked.

"I think you'll be hard pressed to find a single person to corroborate that story."

"Oh, I don't know about that."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Honestly? You looked kind of terrifying."

Kate gave off a sound of disapproval.

"Like, I thought Miller was going to wet himself-"

"Melvin-"

"And Martha practically melted."

"I get it."

"So are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"What happened with Lieutenant Reyes."

"Oh, uh, nothing."

Melvin stared back in obvious disbelief.

"What?" Kate asked when it didn't fade.

"Do you wanna try that again?"

Kate scowled in disagreement before sighing into compliance.

"How would you feel about… expanding movie night?"

"You mean you want to watch more movies? Like a double feature? Like Die Hard and Die Hard 2 all in one night?"

"No, no… uh, not exactly. I was thinking about maybe making it more of a group thing."

"Since when have four people not counted as a group? And what does this have to do with… oh, no. Not a chance."

"It'll only be for a few weeks-"

"-nope."

"-to get Reyes off my back-"

"-not even if hell froze over. I'm already sacrificing my good name over at Wilfred by bailing every Friday, and now you expect me to add Riley Thomas to the itinerary?"

"It doesn't have to be here-"

"That's for damn sure. This place is sacred. You can't see it but there's a sign in invisible ink painted on the door-"

"Melvin," Kate interrupted, trying to temper his hyperbolic comments.

"-and it reads 'No Riley Thomas may step within the realms of 403 unless it is over the dead bodies of one Melvin Bennett and one James Harris."

Kate paused. "You done?"

"For now, but I maintain my right to voice opposition over this shitty plan."

"So, I've reserved the lounge Saturday night for the rest of the month. She probably won't even show; I just need to be able to prove to Reyes that I made an effort."

Melvin sighed grumpily. "Saturday?! Ugh. Fine, but you have to tell the kid," he said in reference to James. "Does Sophie know?"

"She helped me come up with it. It's public, open to anyone, and can easily be tracked if a case is ever opened against me."

"A case?"

"An empty threat from Reyes," Kate waved off.

"You're lucky you're dating someone so far out of your league."

"Don't I know it-"

"Beautiful, funny, a genius-"

"Should I be concerned?" Kate asked in jest.

"- I'm just saying, she's pulling most of the weight in this relationship," Melvin said thoughtfully. "Your contributions so far are… what, exactly?"

"My rejection of authority?"

"I was looking for something to mark in the 'positive' category."

Kate scoffed as she reached for a game controller as Melvin navigated the menu to begin a two-player quest. The next half hour was spent in the depths of a fictional co-op mission, and the shouts of success and failure resonated through the walls until they'd completed the mission.

"Another?" Kate suggested, waving the controller at him.

"In a minute."

"Oh yea? Really exert yourself on this last go? Need a breather?"

"What's gotten into you?"

"What?" Kate asked, the surprise of Melvin's random question written all over her face.

"Your comment earlier. About your rejection of authority-"

"That was a joke."

"Except it wasn't. I mean, not really, right?"

"I'm not sure what you're getting at. Is this about me and Soph?"

"No… it… it's about the fact that somehow you've become more stubborn and belligerent than usual, and not in a good way. You've literally spent every Saturday running courses and drills this semester because you can't seem to hold your tongue with Reyes."

"That's an oversimplification…" Kate began before catching the look on Melvin's face and sighing into her role as listener.

"And with Riley. You're always intervening. And I'm not saying it's necessarily bad, but you can't be there facing off with her every time. For some reason she lives with a chip on her shoulder and takes it out on everyone, but somehow you feel a need to step between her and whatever her latest target is."

"That isn't… that isn't…Did Soph put you up to this?"

Melvin stared back at Kate, unphased by her stubbornness before shaking his head.

"You got your ass handed to you last week."

"That was a misunderstanding."

"Oh yea? It sounds to me like the only misunderstanding was that you forgot you were supposed to fight back."

"It wasn't a full spar."

"Knocked you flat out."

"Melv-"

"All the kids are talking about it."

"No they aren't."

"How do you think I found out?"

"I… are they really?"

She watched Melvin nod, realizing Riley's words from earlier weren't said in provocation; they were genuine.

"Did you throw it?" Melvin asked. It wasn't asked in accusation but simply in search of confirmation. He was suspect of the tale, and the lack of response from Kate was all he needed to know his instincts were right.

"Regardless, now it kinda looks like you were trying to get back at her-"

"I could give less of a fuck about proving something to Riley Thomas, " Kate groaned.

Melvin shrugged.

"Y-you don't believe that, right?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"On whether you tell me what's actually going on."

"To be clear, I'm not saying they're good, but I don't suppose you're proud of your negotiating tactics?"

"I think I would be if I weren't already so worried about you," Melvin replied, the honesty of his admission taking Kate by surprise.

Melvin returned his gaze to the television, leaving Kate to weigh his words. She pondered whether to tell him; on one hand, she had no interest in bringing anyone else into the web Riley has woven, but on the other, this was Melvin. He was one of the most trustworthy, loyal friends she could ask for. He trusted her with his own troubles only a week earlier, and she knew how difficult that had been for him.

"It started the third week of term," Kate began, and Melvin's attention was immediately on her. He looked away only to find the remote and turn off the screen. She paused nervously, unsure how to explain the semester of chaos she'd been dealt.

"I wondered."

"What?" Kate replied in surprise. "Wh-how?"

Melvin's head turned slightly as he shared a small knowing grin. "I'm almost offended you have to ask that."

"I… sorry."

Melvin shook his head, waving off Kate's response. "So, what's been going on?"

"On one condition."

"Name it."

"Not a word of this to Sophie."

* * *

Kate felt Sophie's hands squeeze lightly against her waist, signaling that they'd arrived. She veered off to the side of the road, keeping the bike running while looking around in confusion. She felt Sophie's weight shift as she climbed off the bike.

"Is this where you're going to kill me?" Kate asked jokingly. She glanced around at the dimly lit roadway and woods that towered over them along either side of the street.

"No, too much evidence," Sophie smirked as she pulled off her helmet. "When I do I'll be sure to leave far fewer clues."

"Wait… 'when'?" Kate asked, her humor from earlier fading. She watched Sophie trek off into the darkness, and Kate quickly shut off the bike and chased after. "Did you just say 'when'?" She called out, and a chuckle echoed from the silhouette ten paces in front of her. "Hey, where are we going?" Kate called out, grabbing the second of two bags that had been saddled to the side of the bike. She had tried sneaking a peak earlier when they'd met up on the edge of campus, but a stern look from Sophie and a threat to bail was enough to shelve her curiosity until her girlfriend granted permission.

"Just a bit farther," Sophie called back. The sun was setting which meant the dusk's light was providing just enough guidance along their path. Kate remained a few steps behind Sophie, letting her lead to what Kate assumed was her final resting place. She half imagined a six foot hole at the end of the trail and chuckled at the thought.

"I told you I'm not killing you tonight," Sophie called back, hearing Kate's laugh behind her.

"Wh-? That's not even..."

"Oh yea? So you weren't just playing it out in your head?"

"I…"

"Tell me I'm wrong." Sophie half-laughed, glancing back at Kate who was trying her hardest to keep a serious face. When Kate was unable to muster a response, Sophie haughtily returned her attention to the path.

After another five minutes they came to an overlook that spanned out onto the campus. The burnt red of the setting sun was fighting its last battle as night began overtaking the scene. Lights from the various buildings on campus created a constellation of its own, and Kate found herself appreciating their role as distant onlookers to the scene. For as much as their lives were entangled in the day-to-day of campus life, the chance to step out of it and into their own world was a breath of literal and figurative fresh air.

Book-ended by two lines of buildings was the student quad. It was uniquely positioned center-stage to where Kate and Sophie stood from the woods. Sprinkled around it were the silhouettes of ant-sized students beginning to congregate around a semicircle of folding chairs. In front of the chairs perched black stands, and all of this was illuminated by a series of temporary spotlights.

"Ok, we've got twenty minutes."

"Till what?"

"Showtime," Sophie said, nodding toward the scene below.

"I don't understand."

"The Gotham City Symphony Orchestra is playing in the quad tonight," Sophie said offhandedly, as though it was the most common of occurrences for a Wednesday evening.

"The… really?" Kate asked, a strange excitement taking hold. "I used to go all the time as a kid."

"The life of a millionaire," Sophie chuckled.

"This… this is amazing," Kate said. "Beth and I… we… I haven't… Dad and I never went back after."

Sophie froze, suddenly understanding the meaning behind Kate's reaction. "We… Kate, I'm sorry, I had no idea," she began, stepping back toward Kate. "We don't have to-"

"What? No," Kate said, her voice cracking at the memories being brought to the surface. She lifted her hand and wrapped it around Sophie's waist, pulling her close. "This… this is amazing. Thank you."

Sophie watched Kate for a sign of hesitation, but instead she saw an excited glow; like a kid who had just been told Hanukkah would last sixteen days this year.

"Well, I hate to say it," Sophie began, relaxing into Kate's elation, placing her free hand around Kate, "but the credit is all yours."

"Hm?" Kate asked, her eyes still fixed on the scene below. Musicians were beginning to file out into the area and tune their instruments. For a moment Kate was worried the sounds would get lost, but instead they were amplified and stretched out to where they stood.

"You remember a couple weeks ago when you tried to convince me I was crazy?"

"You'll have to be more specific," Kate replied with practiced sarcasm, and even in the dim light she could make out the eyeroll earned from her response.

"When you were rewriting your paper for Chambers."

"I… I know I don't have a great memory, but this definitely doesn't ring a bell whatsoever, Soph."

Sophie chuckled softly, realizing it was perhaps the most minor of details from a longer, broader conversation. "You were trying to tell me I was spread too thin; that I should-"

"Oh, right, right; that you should go hang out in the quad," Kate interrupted, remembering the moment and feeling Sophie nod against her in agreement.

"Well, turns out there's a whole host of things that goes on in the quad. Apparently the school has all sorts of activities for, uh for-"

"-for normal people who don't spend all of their time in the library to experience?" Kate teased.

"That's perhaps one way of putting it."

"To be fair though, I suggested you go out onto the quad when it was oh… twenty degrees warmer?"

"And that's why we have these," Sophie said, pointing to the bags. "And this," she continued, pulling out a box of matches.

"You're going to set the bag on fire?" Kate teased. "Because that won't keep us warm for very long, babe."

"Would you just-" Sophie chimed in, only half amused by Kate's retort and ill-fitting pet name.

"Or is this how you kill me?"

"I already told you-"

"Could be a ruse. Maybe you're just goading me into a false sense of security before you strike."

"Ruse? Goading? Who are you?" Sophie exclaimed at Kate's vocabulary.

"Like it?" Kate smirked, pleased with Sophie's reaction.

"Yes, but you'll have to tell me where you hid my girlfriend," Sophie chuckled back as she busied herself with the bag. Kate paused, feeling a surge of giddiness at Sophie's word choice. It wasn't that she didn't know they were in a relationship, but whenever Sophie labelled her as 'her girlfriend,' it sent Kate into a state of irrational excitement. They were forever reminded of the need for secrecy and keeping their relationship hidden, and moments like this set Kate's imagination loose, like where their relationship could go once Point Rock was behind them. It was a limitless future; one where Sophie wasn't afraid of repercussions from being herself, and without fail, these elated thoughts overtook whatever else was cooking in Kate's brain.

In the haze of that promising future, she reached out and pulled Sophie to her, slipping her hands around Sophie's cheeks as she stared intensely into her eyes. Her fingers could feel the warmth from Sophie's burning cheeks from uncertainty before Kate leaned in to offer a soft gentle kiss.

When they broke apart Sophie felt herself shakily take a deep breath, as though she'd forgotten how to for the last few moments. She watched the grinning glow of Kate's face in the fading light and felt her own reaction begin to mimic it.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"I was just thinking," Kate said, letting her hands slip back down to her side, grabbing the bag Sophie was just negotiating.

"Oh? Well, if that's what happens when you think, you should do it more often," Sophie replied, surrendering the canvas fabric to Kate. She made out the look of exasperation from Kate before turning her attention to their surroundings. "Anything in particular?"

"Promise not to laugh?" Kate asked, pulling out a very warm looking blanket from the depths of the bag.

"No," Sophie replied easily, her eyes trained on collecting fallen branches.

"Wh-"

"Yes, I promise," Sophie corrected when she saw the brief hesitation play across Kate's expression.

Kate busied herself with the other blanket-laiden bag for a moment, and Sophie worried she'd scared her into silence.

"I was thinking about us," Kate began cautiously. "About after all of this."

Sophie felt her mind glitch for a moment as she took in Kate's words. "Oh?" she asked ambiguously.

"Yea," Kate replied, her confidence growing slightly. "Just, after we're done here, we can be anything; we can do anything. We won't have to negotiate archaic policies or be concerned about whether others approve."

Sophie knelt next to the clearing, brushing aside unwanted debris before laying kindling down.

"We'll be done with the hiding and I could… I could kiss you in the middle of the street."

"That sounds dangerous," Sophie remarked softly as her hands built a small pyramid of larger pieces of wood.

"Sure, but you get what I mean. We won't have to pretend a door is broken or run off into the woods like some Brother's Grimm story. We could be on the quad doing this same thing, or… or, hell, we could actually go to the Symphony or… or go out to dinner or a movie or walk down the street and I could hold your hand. We can have this in real life," Kate said, gesturing between her and Sophie, and Sophie could hear the excitement in her voice at the idea of it.

Sophie remained silent for a moment. They'd never really discussed a long term strategy for their relationship, and it was something Sophie intentionally turned a blind eye toward. It wasn't because she didn't care, but it all still felt so far away to consider realistically, and Sophie was taken by surprise by the tone and earnestness of Kate's words. In all of their discussions, Kate had shared enough for Sophie to know that Gotham was where her heart was at, and becoming a member of her father's new organization was her focus. For Sophie, she'd spent so much time building out what she thought was the right future in high school to get to Point Rock and out into a life of service that anything else was alien to her. The concept of rethinking that path was less clear on its own. Add in a relationship and that future became even hazier. Add in a relationship to another _woman_ and Sophie felt the crushing weight of how rigid her current trajectory for life beyond Point Rock was.

"Soph?"

"Hm? What?"

"I asked if everything was ok?"

"Oh, yea, sorry, I was listening and then… these matches are-are..."

Sophie heard twigs and leaves crack under the weight of Kate as she took the few steps before sitting down next to her. She tensed, feeling the presence of her gaze land on her before glancing nervously over to see Kate staring warmly back. She felt Kate's fingers reach for the box she'd just been nervously fidgeting over, and she easily surrendered them. They sat in continued silence as Kate struck a match, bringing her free hand around to protect the small flame, guiding it to the flammable kindling of leaves and twigs. They watched as the fire took hold, the dry material allowing the flame to grow effortlessly.

The warmth began to radiate, and it took a moment for Sophie to realize Kate's fingers had woven themselves around Sophie's.

"How about we take back the last five minutes?" Kate offered.

"No, I… It's not that… it's not you or-or anything you said, I just-"

"Soph, you don't have to explain."

"I just don't want you to think you're doing or saying or… or… I want to hear these things; I don't want you to feel like you can't say this... I just don't know… I don't know how to react yet. And it's not because I don't want you or us or what we have, I just don't… I don't have a plan?"

Sophie chanced a look at Kate and was surprised to see a small smile being illuminated by the growing fire.

"You're smiling."

"Yes," Kate replied, her smile growing wider at Sophie's obvious observation.

"Why?"

"Because you're you. You're exactly, completely, one hundred percent you."

"I… I-ok?" Sophie stammered, perplexed. "But that doesn't-"

"That doesn't explain why I'm smiling?"

"Well… yes?" Sophie replied, feeling like she was missing out on some important tidbit.

"You're exactly who I want to be dating, Soph."

"Yea, but what about everything you were just saying and-"

"What about it?" Kate shrugged dismissively.

"Kate, you can't actually mean that-"

"What did I say last spring?" Kate asked, her gaze steady on Sophie. "You don't have to know everything, and honestly, I like it better that you don't," she chuckled softly. "And I don't want you to feel like you need to have the answer. This is new for both of us, in similar and different ways. We're… we're still figuring it out, and we've got plenty of time to do that. There's no pressure."

"Kate, I… I don't… thank you," Sophie sighed, feeling a surprising amount of relief at Kate's words. "You're pretty great."

"Oh, I know," Kate smirked back, causing Sophie's seriousness to break. Just like that, the tension was broken. "Now, how about we finish setting this up before the show starts?"


	5. Chapter 5

"It's open," came a shout through the door.

Sophie let the door swing inward and peered inside, catching sight of James posted up in his usual position, nose-deep in a video game.

"Have you seen Melvin?"

"He went home for the weekend," James answered with a grunt of frustration at the game.

"He went… really? Why?"

James shrugged.

"He didn't tell you?"

"He's not _my_ boyfriend, Sophie," he shot back.

"Uh… ok," Sophie said, sensing a tone of annoyance. "You still up for movie night?"

James shrugged again.

"It won't be Die Hard, but-" James groaned, "-but Tony is proposing Mission Impossible."

A smirk of recognition and consideration crossed James' face.

"I'll see you there," Sophie chuckled, retracing her steps to exit the way she entered.

"Hey, did you know Melvin went home for the weekend?" Sophie asked, stepping into the lounge.

"Yea," Kate said, without looking up as she slid a couch into place.

"You know why?"

"Nope," Kate replied, pausing to study the layout.

"You sure?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Because you two tell each other everything."

Kate glanced over at Sophie, hesitating briefly. "That feels like an accusation."

"Only because it's not wrong."

"I… I don't know? Maybe? Where is this coming from?"

"Sometimes I'm not sure if you're in a relationship with me or him."

"The funny part is that you're the one in a relationship with both of us," Kate teased back.

"And yet somehow I never get told anything."

"I… do you think I don't tell you everything?"

"I _know_ you don't tell me everything," Sophie corrected, her tone righteous but with a flare of annoyance. "You spent practically an entire year using him as a sounding board before we started dating."

"Oh, right," Kate confessed, adjusting one of the couches slightly to better align with the television.

"He didn't say anything?"

"Are you sure you want to be in the military?"

"I… what?"

"Because you've gotten a bit of a detective streak going these last few weeks," Kate remarked, earning her a scowl of mock disapproval. "GCPD might be hiring-"

"Kate-"

"-but honestly, you're probably already overqualified as it is-"

"Ok, I get it _-_ "

"-you might consider getting a small corrupt streak going; maybe deal a few drugs, get in with a mob ring, mug a homeless guy-"

" _Kate_."

"Yes, babe?" Kate asked, taking advantage of the privacy the lounge door was providing them.

"I know what you're doing," Sophie said, glancing back at the all glass partition separating their conversation from the hall.

"And what is that my beautiful, clever, uncompromis-"

"You're deflecting."

"Am I?"

"Which means you're lying."

"I don't think-"

"Where is Melvin?"

"I already told you; he went home-"

"Kate, I…" Sophie began sharply before catching tone and words. "Right, let me clarify: you don't have to tell me."

"Ok…" Kate's eyes narrowed, sensing a trap.

"But please don't lie to me about it," Sophie continued.

Kate looked like she might deny it but instead remained silent, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty.

"You two have a thing; I get it."

"Soph, I wasn't trying to-"

"Just, hold on," Sophie interrupted. "You two have a thing. He talks to you. There's probably a reason he didn't tell anyone else, right?"

"R-right."

"Which is fine, ok?"

"Ok."

"I don't need to know, but I'd like to know you know."

"I… I don't understand," Kate replied, searching for clarity but concerned she'd already said the wrong thing.

"I just mean you don't have to lie about knowing. We're a team, right?"

"One hundred percent," Kate replied without hesitating.

"So, then maybe… maybe when I ask you if he told you - you don't have to tell me, but please be honest with me about it."

"I was just… You're right. He told me, but I promised I wouldn't say anything."

"Is he ok?"

"I think so. At least, I think he will be. Still working through that part."

"Ok, thank you," Sophie nodded in understanding before turning toward the door.

"Hey, Soph?"

"Yea?"

"I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Sophie offered up a small smile of reassurance. "But maybe you should apologize for the movie choice tonight. Mission Impossible? Really?"

"Oh, don't even get me started."

"Any update from Riley?"

Kate shook her head. "Ghosted."

"At least Reyes can't say you aren't trying," Sophie assured Kate, gesturing toward the assembly of chairs and couches.

* * *

"What, no diet?"

Kate suppressed another groan of frustration as she forced an apologetic smile to the group at the latest interruption. A collective scowl from the popcorn stand was all she needed to know Riley's sudden appearance and unrelenting desire to cause a distraction every five minutes was going to cause an early and quick end to the night.

It was the second attempt in as many weeks to 'make amends' with Riley since Reyes had threatened to open a case into Kate's enrollment. She had swallowed her pride and invited Riley shortly after her and Sophie came up with the plan. After a few minutes of Riley gloating at Kate's 'patheticness', as Riley put it, she waved a hand of ambivalence and advised she'd need to check her calendar first.

The first week resulted in a no-show, and the group couldn't have been more relieved - Kate included. She had used what little persuasion and pull she had with the group to give up the first part of their Saturday nights for the next few weeks. Once they understood the gravity of the situation with Reyes, they were more than happy to help Kate make a case that she was trying to play nice with Riley; however, now that she had actually bothered to show up, Kate was regretting asking them. The week before had turned into a pleasant social experience, with everyone staying well into the night when Miller ran back to his room to retrieve a bottle of bottom-shelf bourbon.

The only silver lining now that Riley was part of the equation was that Kate had intentionally set the start time early enough in the evening to still get a few hours in over at Wilfred Hall for those looking to party away the latest week of class.

"Fresh out, sorry," Kate muttered softly, hoping that'd be the end of it.

"Well this regular is just going to go straight to my waist," Riley continued at a regular volume, either unaware of or ignoring the conversation coming from the screen. Kate rolled her eyes as she leaned forward to stand, catching a smile of reassurance from Sophie who was sitting one couch over from her.

"First of all," Kate muttered, walking toward Riley, "I've seen you inhale two burgers and three servings of fries in one sitting. You have the metabolism of a hummingbird. I think regular will be just fine."

"Oh, Katherine, I didn't realize you noticed me like tha-"

" _Secondly_ ," Kate interrupted, "You're a brat. Now, get your drink and go sit down."

"Do you use this tone on Sophie?" Riley asked, her eyes going wide with feigned innocence.

"I am not even entertai-"

"A little demanding aren't you? Bet you get off on that dominance stuff. Oh, you've got to be dying," Riley cooed sarcastically. "Having to behave with that smokin' babe right next to you."

"You're right again, Riley. I really have the hots for Erwin," Kate replied, unwilling to put up a fight.

"What's the female version of blue balls?"

"Wouldn't know."

"Well you should look it up, because that's you. I'm starting to worry that if you don't release this pent up frustration you'll be permanently broken."

"Good thing I'm not worried," Kate replied casually, checking that their voices weren't carrying back toward the group. She noted Sophie's head was tilted ever-so-slightly toward them, as though straining to pick up on the conversation, but everyone else's focus had returned to the screen.

"I guess I'll just worry for both of us," Riley sighed in exaggerated strain.

"Not necessary. Are you done?"

"Unless you've been unfaithful. You wouldn't be preying-"

"Drink ok?"

"-on other innocent young female cadets on campus-"

"Did you want a sippy cup for that?"

"-because then I'd have to go to-"

"No? Great."

"You've been no fun lately, Kane."

"And here I was hoping you hadn't noticed," Kate said, moving to leave.

"Keep it up, and I may have to change my terms."

"Like hell you will," Kate said, a glimpse of anger sneaking into her voice. Before Riley could formulate a response, Kate stepped back toward the group, leaving her with a grin of satisfaction.

Sophie limited her glances to Kate until Riley had completed her dramatic walk to the last remaining free spot next to Martha. Martha did her best to hide the disappointment as Riley extended her act to ensure every eye in the room was on her. For this she received another round of scowls for her latest antics which only seemed to widen her smirk. After a few nervous minutes, everyone finally settled into watching the movie, Riley included, and Sophie chanced a look at Kate. They were sitting on different couches with James next to her and Erwin next to Kate which wasn't ideal but maintained their illusion.

Kate's focus was on the screen which meant Sophie could interrogate the subtlety of Kate's expression for clues. Generally she did a frustratingly good job of hiding her feelings and now was no different. Recently there had been moments when that facade fractured and broke, and Sophie knew something especially trying had occurred. She'd done her best to catch glimpses of the conversation between Kate and Riley but between the volume of the movie and the hushed voices from the duo, she was completely in the dark. Her only hint was at the very end when Kate's voice jumped. No one else's attention was drawn to this shift, but Sophie noted it was tense and louder than the rest of the conversation.

There was something about Kate and Riley that was beginning to eat at her. She couldn't quite figure it out, and Kate was mum on the issue. Since Riley was the last person in the world she'd look to for guidance on the issue, that left her in the dark. Instead, she relied on these moments of confrontation to guide her perspective, and, contrary to the ease with which Kate dismissed it when asked, that perspective was telling her it wasn't just a casual feud.

* * *

"Are we done?"

"Not yet," Sophie answered, giving a measured response as she navigated toward the next subject. Not only had Riley been twenty minutes late, she hadn't come prepared for half the subjects they were meant to cover during their two-hour session. They were now running over by five minutes, and Riley's temperament was pushing Sophie to get rid of her as quickly as possible. "Where's your review for Chambers?"

"Ugh," Riley whined.

"You brought it, right?"

"Yea, but…"

"But what? It's due tomorrow."

Riley snorted with laughter. "It's a wonder you sleep at night."

"Sorry?"

"You're so uptight. You ever consider loosening up a bit? Maybe turning something in late? Or like, procrastinate a bit? Most people haven't even started. I bet Melvin hasn't started. You gonna get on him about it? Or that roommate of his, hm?"

"It's James, and no," Sophie answered easily Riley's line of questioning. "Now where is it?"

"I don't have it."

"But you just said-"

"I mean I haven't printed it out."

"Oh, ok, can I see your laptop?"

"Ew, no. Here," Riley said, sliding her bag over and digging through the front pocket. After a moment she pulled out a bright red fob and tossed it across the table at Sophie.

"Wh-what is this?"

"It's on there."

Sophie quickly connected the dots and slipped out her own laptop before plugging the USB end into it. She navigated to the temporary folder and scowled slightly at the single file on it.

"Do you use this for anything else?" Sophie asked, not hiding her confusion from Riley.

"Sure."

"But it has just the one file-"

"I like to stay organized," Riley waved, and Sophie had to force her jaw closed for fear it would hang open in disbelief. After weeks as her roommate, she couldn't help but question the legitimacy of that statement.

"Uh, ok, can I make a copy of this?"

"Sure, as long as you don't steal it for yourself when you realize how good it is," Riley challenged.

"Right… ok, we're good then," Sophie said, pulling the stick from her computer and sliding it back across the Riley. "I'll review this and send through any comments tonight."

"Sure, whatever," Riley said before snatching her bag and bolting from the seat. She yanked open the door and came face-to-face with a surprised looking Kate. "Ah! Katherine," she grinned.

"I'm not interested," Kate said, slipping past Riley to enter the study room.

Riley in turn gave a small pout of disapproval at being ignored. "Not interested in being bested today, Kane?"

"You win," Kate replied easily, ignoring Riley's antagonistic tactics as she settled into the seat Riley had just vacated.

"It was more fun when you put up a fight," Riley sneered.

Kate shrugged indifferently before she heard a perturbed sigh of disbelief before the door slammed shut.

"Not bad," Sophie smirked, glancing across toward Kate who was grinning with amusement.

"Apparently indifference helps. Really gets her worked up."

"Worked on me," Sophie said distractedly skimming through Riley's document before her brain caught up a moment later. "Wait, I didn't mean-"

But it was too late; Kate was already laughing at Sophie's slip.

"Got you all worked up, did I?" Kate grinned, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"No, you stay right there," Sophie said with a knowing look. "I have to finish this…"

"But after?" Kate asked hopefully.

"Uh…"

"I could really make it worth it…"

Kate watched Sophie scowling back at her screen.

"Maybe I'll go ahead and get naked."

"Uh-huh…"

"Maybe just take you right here on this table."

"Sure."

"Sophie," Kate sighed.

"Hm?"

"Not even listening..."

"Hey, can you explain something?"

"Uh…" Kate faltered, unsure how to interpret Sophie's tone but also not remotely surprised by her girlfriend's distraction. "Sure?"

Sophie swiveled her laptop to face Kate.

"What am I looking at?" Kate scowled, seeing a word document glowing back at her.

"Riley's essay."

"Uh… ok? Is there something I should be looking for?"

"The document owner."

"And… where do I find that?"

"Upper right."

Kate felt the blood drain from her cheeks. "That's weird."

"Can you explain that?"

"Hmm," Kate muttered, scowling at the information on the screen glaring back at her:

_Author: K. Kane_

"No."

"Honestly?"

"Yea. That's super weird. Maybe I didn't log out of the library computer?" Kate offered as she skimmed through the rest of the document.

"What?"

"Yea, Riley doesn't have a laptop; she uses the public computers."

"How do you know that?"

"How do you not? Aren't you her tutor?" Kate joked back, earning a scowl of skepticism.

"But _you_ have a laptop. When have you ever used a library computer?"

"All the time. Usually when I'm not confined to a windowless study room in the library's forgotten basement," Kate gestured toward the faded off-yellow walls around them.

"You use the public computers?" Sophie asked in obvious disbelief.

"Which isn't a diss on study rooms."

"Kate-"

"The company is actually pretty good. There's this one girl-"

"When do you use the public computers?"

"Whenever - between classes. I don't always have my laptop and they're super convenient for checking email," Kate said, glancing over the top of the screen at Sophie. Sophie's scowl suggested she was unsatisfied with the explanation as Kate casually spun the computer back toward her. "I'll be more careful in the future," Kate offered in consolation.

"Hm," Sophie replied, unable to articulate her skepticism. She shot furtive looks back at Kate as she unpacked her bag to join in on the study session.

"What?" Kate asked, finally catching Sophie's eye.

"I… nothing. It's nothing."

* * *

"You ladies ready for this?" James snickered. "We won't hold it against you when you have to drop out halfway through."

"Are you forgetting Kate has literally been running this course _twice_ every week since the semester started?" Melvin chimed in before Sophie or Kate could.

Sophie and Melvin let out amused chuckles as James considered Melvin's words. "Oh, yea… right."

Their year had achieved the unthinkable: every one of the cadets had not only completed the second year course, they did it well under the allowable time limits. On top of that, it had been achieved during the fall semester which was a feat no previous year in the history of the Academy had ever accomplished.

While she'd deny it, everyone in their year knew the reason for this success was because of Kate. She had managed to train the stragglers and 'weak links', as drill sergeants called them, into fully capable squad members over the first few weeks of the semester. It was this shift in performance that got the class past this landmark.

Unfortunately, as their reward, the second year was assigned to the fourth year course. Kate speculated that it was the drill crews' way of keeping the second years humble, but there was a streak of pride that came with knowing they'd outperformed enough to merit this particular kind of punishment.

This course was very unlike the second year run. Where the second year run forced participants to have a baseline stamina to get through the various tasks. Typically one task would exercise a set of muscles while the next task would focus on something else, allowing the earlier strained muscles a moment of reprieve.

By stark contrast, the fourth year course was broken into parts where each section was filled with a series of drills designed to strain a set of muscles without rest. For this reason alone, Kate expected half the participants would drop out within the first fifteen minutes. The second years were good, but they were nowhere near prepared for this kind of rigor. She surveyed her peers and concluded maybe a dozen would even make it to the wall. From that she didn't hold out much hope that any more than a handful would survive beyond it.

She was already psyching herself up for what she considered a relaxing task: as Melvin had so astutely pointed out, Kate was used to running the course twice in a row at the crack of dawn, courtesy of Lieutenant Reyes and her inability to hold her tongue. Running it once in the middle of the day would be a breeze, and she was actually excited to get going.

"So how does this work? Same concept?" Melvin asked, surveying the mass of fellow cadets standing around in wait.

"Sort of. Instead of staggered groups of ten everyone is separated into sets of three. Each group is separated by four minutes, and you've got an hour to complete," Kate explained easily. "You work together to get through."

"And if someone fails?"

"Then you're down a squad member," Kate replied. "If you're the last left, you get absorbed into the squad behind you, but you take any time lost waiting for them to catch up. Usually falling back for one or two groups isn't so bad, but more than that and it'll hurt you."

"That's some bullshit," Melvin replied, his competitive streak getting the better of him.

"Yea, well, that 'bullshit' is the point of the course: it's not about you getting a good time by yourself. It's about making sure your squad gets a good time. Once you get past the wall though, it's a free-for-all, but that last section is really just a formality."

"But isn't it a mile run?" James balked.

"Yea."

"How is a one mile run a formality?" James continued, not quite believing Kate's words.

Kate let out a small chuckle. "If you get through the rest of it you'll understand. A one mile run is a stroll in the park after all this," she said, gesturing at the battleground of obstacles before them.

"How are the groups assigned?"

"You pick them-"

"I call Kate!" Melvin quickly interrupted, earning a glare from James and Sophie, knowing one of them would be the obvious man - or woman - out. "What? Just cause you two are slowpokes-"

"I doubt anyone is going to do very well at this," Kate added bluntly. "And I _really_ doubt it matters who we get partnered with."

"Kate's probably right. They aren't putting us on this course because they think we'll do well. They're probably trying to teach us a lesson," Sophie said, having had the same internal observations as her partner.

Unfortunately for the second years, that is exactly what the drill sergeants had in store for them. On top of having to run the course, they were given one quarter less time than afforded to the fourth years, and instead of allowing squads that had dwindled down to one a chance to be absorbed into the group behind them, they were instead immediately disqualified. Worse still, the groups were predetermined - an obvious sigh of disappointment resonated from Melvin at this information. Lieutenant Reyes had graced the cadets with his presence to outline the parameters of the drill; typically he was exclusively engaged with third and fourth years. That he showed up impressed upon the class how significant their success as a year had been.

"Bennett, Potts, and Miller!" Reyes shouted. Another sigh of disappointment could be heard next to Kate as Melvin trekked off toward his less than desirable fate.

A number of other names were rattled off. Tony, Chelsea and James managed to find themselves in a group together, and Erwin had been paired with two others from the class that Kate wasn't closely acquainted with. Each group wandered off to their designated patch of grass where they'd wait their turn to begin the course. Kate glanced around, noting that a dozen or so remained, and she speculated on who she'd end up with. She doubted Reyes would stack her with Sophie, but a small sliver of hope for it remained. She had to hide the smile though as Reyes called off the next group:

"Kane, Moore, and… _Thomas_."

The struggle to smile became a struggle to hide her obvious disappointment. She glanced to her left and saw a glowing Riley grinning back at the duo.

"Well, we're fucked."

"Relax. You know this course like the back of your hand," Sophie muttered, but Kate noted her voice was strained as though not quite believing her own words.

"Maybe she'll drop early," Kate muttered hopefully as they found their designated waiting location. A scowl of disapproval shut her up as Riley came bounding over, her signature glimmer of mischief plastered on her face.

"Riley," Kate greeted plainly.

"Ready to get bested again, Kane?" she grinned.

"That's not… were you even listening?" Kate asked, confounded by Riley's question.

"Yea. And it sounds to me like two can finish just fine-"

"Yes, which means Sophie and I will do great when you drop-"

"Kate," Sophie cut in, giving her girlfriend an eye of warning. Kate's quick scowl of disapproval was met with a sneer from Riley.

"Better behave Katherine. You're upsetting mom," Riley replied cooly. "Looks to me like you're being a bit of a third-wheel," she added out of Sophie's earshot.

"Wait, I need a minute," Riley gasped.

"You get thirty seconds," Kate replied, her own breathing just fine. She glanced over at Sophie whose breathing struck a balance between theirs: labored but not bad enough to need a break. Kate shot her a small smile of pride before she glanced around at the other squads running the same drills. As expected, they were dwindling quickly. A very upset looking Melvin was trying to cheer Martha through a drill; they had been the third squad to start which was over thirty minutes ago. At this rate Melvin would be lucky if they finished the course in four hours. Whether he found it fortunate or not, at least he had the benefit of automatic disqualification once forty-five minutes had expired. Perhaps Martha would be the real winner in that limitation.

Kate, Sophie, and Riley were one of the last squads to be given the go ahead. They'd managed to survive the first section even with Riley weighing them down, and Kate figured they were now on track to get close to the time limit. Typically the four minute delay between squads provided enough of a gap that the field didn't get too overwhelmed, but given that the second years were so obviously ill-equipped meant that a majority of groups were crowding the first part of course.

The silver lining to that was the rest of the course was practically wide open for their use. Kate checked her watch, counting down the seconds before Riley's breather was over.

"Ok," Kate concluded.

"No… no wait, just a little-"

"Either come with us or drop out" Kate said, her voice direct and uncompromising. Even though Kate had offered a choice, the way she said it carried with it a decision: Riley would continue with them. It was a tone Sophie wasn't familiar with, but fit her. She'd heard from others in the evening training sessions that Kate was a hard-ass, but now seeing it on the course, she understood what they meant. Kate took charge; she was a natural leader, and it helped that she had so much experience with the course. Through the entire first set of drills, she'd verbally guided and commanded her and Riley through them, ensuring they had a leg up even when facing them for the very first time. This kept their pace and allowed them to swiftly pass through the first phase. Sophie barely had time to register the exhaustion in her legs until Riley had gasped for rest.

The second phase was no different, and she was beginning to understand why, even among the fourth years, so few closed out the course. It wasn't that there wasn't enough time - although that was certainly a factor because it forced everyone to continue through the drills - it was that halfway through each section of the course, fatigue in the muscles made cadets want to surrender and take the fail.

Somehow, against all odds, the three of them stood at the base of the sloping wall.

"Riley you'll grab the left rope. Soph, you go right and mount first. Riley, you're second-"

"What?! Why does she get to go first?" Riley whined.

"Because your dead weight at this point-"

"-hey!"

"-and you won't be able to get yourself over that ledge. Sophie will help you from the top."

"But why can't I be middle?" Riley continued.

"Same reason. You're dead weight."

"Wh-?"

"You can use the lip at the edge of the wall to thrust off, and you're right handed, so you'll be better positioned once you're at the top to climb over."

These were all things Sophie hadn't considered when they approached the wall, and she wondered how much of Kate's direction came from fourth years handing down guidance and how much was just Kate's ability to strategize through an obstacle. Her gut was siding with the latter: it was becoming more and more obvious that Kate had an intuition about these things.

Riley looked like she might argue but slumped into submission. "You better be fast, Sophie," she muttered as the three of them grabbed their respective ropes.

It didn't take long for Sophie to understand why this was the hardest of all the drills. After thirty minutes of racing through each and every drill, this slow, strained climb highlighted how every muscle in her body was screaming for rest. The only thing that kept her going was realizing the only thing between her and the finish line after this was a light run. She smirked through a grimace as she realized how true Kate's words from earlier were. After all of this, the one mile run was the least daunting thing to face.

"Don't slow; climb through it," she heard Kate's voice just below her when she felt herself slow. Sophie felt a jolt of renewed focus and a small sense of victory as she noted even Kate's breathing was strained under the task. She took advantage of the small lip that ran along the vertical, tapering edge of the wall, using it as leverage to pull herself up and as a small lip when she needed to pause.

It took only a few minutes of labored pulls before she felt her fingers grip onto the top ledge of the wall. She steadied herself, not wanting to rush and make an error in the last few seconds before pulling herself over. A wave of pride and success shot through her as she sat upright, taking in the view of the obstacle course. They were the first, and likely only, squad to make it to the wall. The remaining groups were stranded between the first and second section of the course. Most had been pulled for failing to complete in time. The rest were nearing the end like Sophie, Kate, and Riley.

"Oy!" came a grunt from below and Sophie quickly returned her attention to Riley frantically climbing the last few feet to the top. Sophie prepared herself to help noting Kate was lingering at the wall's halfpoint to give as much clearance for Riley as possible. She could tell Riley was struggling. Her climbing was erratic; at least, as erratic as climbing vertically can be performed.

When Riley was one last pull away, Sophie readied herself. "Ok, give it two more goes and you'll be high enough to get a good hold on the top."

"One," she gasped, and before Sophie could register what Riley was implying, she leapt from the rope toward the top.

"Hey, wait, no-" Sophie shouted, reaching out too late as Riley slipped and lost her grip on the top ledge. Kate looked up from her own ascent just in time to see Riley's chin crack against the top lip of the wall before Riley's body began descending toward her. Instinctively, Kate released one hand from the rope and grabbed the passing fabric of Riley's jacket. She felt Riley's weight throw her center of gravity off as she rotated downwards, still gripping tightly against the rope as they both slammed into the planked wall.

It took a moment for Riley to register what had happened, unsure why she wasn't facedown in the pit below her. Unfortunately, with her awareness came the return of her undesirable charm.

"Aw, you saved me again," Riley smirked, dangling like a rag doll from Kate's arm, forgetting her exhaustion from moments earlier. Kate noted a streak of blood was making its way down Riley's face from the fresh cut under her chin, and she felt the smallest tinge of remorse for her.

"Kate, are you-" Sophie asked, peering over the top, pausing when she saw the situation unfolding below her.

"Grab the rope," Kate muttered through a clenched jaw as she began to swing Riley toward one of the two limp and unused lifelines against the wall. Riley reached out and grabbed it with ease. Kate held on until she was sure Riley's grip was secure before returning her hand to her own rope. "You first," Kate nodded toward the narrowing top.

"Because I'm a lady-?"

" _Riley_ ," Kate hissed. While she'd had more experience than anyone else on this course and the stamina to match, she was starting to feel her own muscles begin to fatigue. She glanced down and found a small divot in the wood to set her foot and try to take some of her weight off her arms.

"You could wait at the bottom; I might be a minute," Riley teased as she began to heave her way up, her breath still labored from the last ascent. Kate felt her jaw clench in annoyance. They both knew dropping meant an immediate disqualification. She glanced up at Sophie who was still at the top, waiting for Riley to reach her. She shared a small smile of appreciation as Riley slowly climbed her way back to the top.

This time met success, and Riley scrambled over the top, releasing Sophie to continue down the other side. Kate sighed with relief as she continued her own climb, eager to relieve her strained arms. She managed her way to the top with relative ease, and she took a moment to check her surroundings before lifting one hand off the rope toward the ledge. It was then that she realized Riley was still there.

"Why are you…?" Kate began, leaving the question hanging in the air.

"Thought I'd help," Riley said, and it was then that Riley's signature mischievous grin curled over her face and Kate felt the tension in her rope slack. She glanced down just in time to see Riley's fingers retract from the rest of the knot as it began to unravel.

"Riley what are you-? No - don't!" But it was too late. The rope slipped loose and Kate felt the pull of gravity grab her into a free fall toward the pit below. She felt her legs graze the sharply sloping wall, and her fingers tried frantically to slow her fall by reaching out to grab hold of the flat surface.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of growing confusion and speed, the ground met her with an unceremonious thud and a single pop. She felt herself utter a small cry of pain as she rolled over, gripping at her left wrist which had taken the brunt of Kate's weight in the ungraceful landing. She inhaled sharply, trying to let her lungs catch up to the air that had been expelled from them as she looked up and saw Riley give her a small wave before feigning a voice of concern:

"Kate? Kate, are you ok?!"

Kate snarled in anger as a drill sergeant quickly closed the distance and she made out the face. She groaned realizing it was Lieutenant Reyes.

"All that practice and still can't manage to complete the course, Cadet Kane?"

"Apparently," Kate growled, forcing herself to her feet.

"I hope you've got more to say than that," Reyes remarked threateningly.

" _sir_ ," she finished.

"Injured?"

"I… no," Kate replied, letting her arms fall lamely to her sides, ignoring the sharp pain radiating from the left one.

"Very well. You'll be marked as incomplete," Reyes continued with a sigh of disappointment as he surveyed the field of cadets still running the course. "It's a shame. You are becoming quite the disappointment."

Kate remained quiet, already familiar with Lieutenant Reyes' tactics. If she didn't know any better, she'd have figured he and Riley were related.

"That will be all Cadet Kane," he continued when he realized the bait would go untouched.

Kate turned to leave with a relief that came too soon.

"Cadet Kane," she heard him say with a level of amusement.

"Sir?"

"You didn't think I was serious, did you?"

"Yes, but only because your jokes are never very good, sir," Kate challenged, and felt a small triumph as the smile on Reyes' face fell to a scowl. She knew a second later her response was bound to double whatever punishment Reyes was about to dole out.

"I'll see you Saturday, Cadet Kane. Clearly you need the practice."

"Any chance anyone else from our year has been honored with this same practice?" Kate shot back.

"Why would I do that? They performed exactly as intended. My point was made."

Kate opened her mouth to argue before Reyes interrupted.

"One word and I'll have you running courses every Saturday until you graduate," he threatened.

Kate felt her mouth close in compliance, feeding into the enjoyment she assumed Reyes was basking in.

" _Now_ you may go, Cadet Kane."

* * *

"Kate, it was clear as day. Miller and James saw it."

"They were clear on the other side of the course and don't know what they're talking about."

It was six hours later in the library's forgotten study rooms. Sophie and Riley had managed to be the only cadets who finished the course, and it didn't take long for stories of Kate's fall to circulate through their year. Sophie had watched in confusion as Riley arrived at the finish line minutes after her with no sign of Kate. When she pressed Riley for an explanation, Riley simply shrugged and muttered something about Kate not having the chops to finish the climb.

It was a dig that made Sophie immediately skeptical, and when whispers of what happened hit her ears, she felt an unexplainable anger toward Riley that shattered her patience and made her unwilling to accept the explanation Kate offered.

"Why are you protecting her?" Sophie continued, her eyes narrowing in frustration.

"I'm not protecting her. It was my fault - I wasn't looking and - and, what?"

"I _really_ hate it when you lie to me."

"I'm not…"

Kate's resolve wavered at Sophie's look of disappointment.

"I don't like lying to you either," Kate confessed. "But look… it's just not what you think it is. It's not that big of a deal, ok?"

"You could have died," Sophie reasoned.

"Hyperbole doesn't suit you," Kate waved off.

"Fine, but you could have been more seriously injured. And will you please go get that checked out? You're in pain," Sophie said, nodding toward Kate's wrist with a wince.

"No I'm not."

"You should get better at hiding it if you expect me to believe you."

"I've literally done nothing to suggest-"

"You won't hold anything with it, you practically dropped your tray in the mess hall earlier because you couldn't use it, and you haven't moved it since you sat down. You're doing everything with your right hand."

"It's just a light sprain," Kate challenged back.

"It's probably broken."

"I didn't realize you were in the company of Superman," Kate mocked.

"I don't suppose Melvin has been graced with an explanation," Sophie accused, returning to the topic of Riley with a hint of resentment in her voice.

"Are you looking for an argument?"

"No, Kate. I'm looking for some honesty from you. I'm starting to lose track of all the lies you've told me."

"Probably because you've been focusing all your attention on a sprained wrist."

Scowls of silence followed as Kate sat stubbornly, unwilling to fold under Sophie's glare.

"Kate-"

"Sophie, I'm not telling you."

"Well I suppose that's something," Sophie replied dryly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"At least you've finally acknowledged something's going on."

* * *

"Cadet Kane," called a familiar voice over the field.

Kate paused, taking the moment to relieve the sharp pain driving through her wrist. "Sir?"

"When a commanding officer asks if you've been injured, honesty isn't optional," he chastised.

"Sir, I-"

"Two days ago we stood not thirty yards from here and you lied to me, Cadet Kane."

"I… I don't-"

"You took an oath the first week of term, Cadet Kane, or have you forgotten?"

Kate fell silent, only half remembering the words said in chorus with her peers.

"A cadet shall not lie, cheat, or steal, nor suffer others to do so," Reyes repeated for her. "Does that ring a bell?"

"Yes, sir," Kate replied, vaguely placing the words she'd not given much thought to for over a year.

"Is it confidence, Cadet Kane? Is that what motivates you? Or is it pride?"

"I don't- I don't know… both?" Kate replied, honestly unsure for herself.

"When you are out in the field and the men and women of your squad are in life or death situations, they need to trust you. They need to know whether you are performing at one hundred percent, ninety percent, or ten percent."

"I… I didn't think-"

"That's your pride, Cadet Kane. That's what keeps you performing below your best and your peers in danger. You'd do well to manage it."

"I… you're right, sir," Kate replied in apology. The words surprised both of them.

"Medical, now."

"What?"

"You're done. Get that wrist checked and braced. You're not to be on my course again until you've been cleared."

* * *

"What's the verdict?" Melvin asked.

"Fracture," Kate sighed, collapsing on the couch.

"How long?"

"Four weeks."

"Was black an option or did you dip that in a bucket of paint on your way back to the dorm," Sophie chimed in, gesturing to Kate's cast. Her tone suggested she still wasn't completely over her and Kate's confrontation from a day earlier, but it was also clear she was trying to move past it.

"Tar, actually."

"Sounds fitting."

"Well glitter wasn't available..."

"So naturally you went with the polar opposite," Sophie retorted.

"Cuts out the grey area," Kate smirked.

Sophie glanced up from her book to see Kate had made the conservative choice of sitting on the far side of the couch, providing ample distance between them.

"So, what's the movie tonight? We should probably head toward the common room, right?" Kate asked of the room. What she received were three sets of blank stares. "What?"

"You aren't serious," Melvin said for the group.

"It's Saturday," Kate said matter of factly, scowling in confusion at the rest of the group.

"Yea, but-"

"But Kate, she fucked up your arm," James interrupted Melvin.

"Guys, how many times do I have to tell you: it was an accident. She… the rope wasn't secure. It's not Riley's fault."

"Kate, why do you keep defending her?" Sophie asked, genuinely perplexed.

"I'm not defending anyone; I'm just telling you like it is."

"I think we're going to pass tonight," Melvin said uneasily.

"We? Meaning all of you?" Kate asked in surprise. "Soph?"

"Kate, I… I can't even look at her without wanting to bust her jaw."

"Sophie," Kate said in exasperation. "You aren't serious."

"I think I'm going to spend the night at the library," Sophie replied, rising to leave.

"Soph, wait, come on. You guys are taking this out of context."

"How?" Sophie shot back, the feelings of anger from earlier coming back.

"What?"

"How are we taking it out of context?"

"I already explained that," Kate replied, not understanding the accusatory look coming from her girlfriend.

"No you haven't Kate. You've explained nothing."

"Wh-"

"Kate," Sophie sighed. "I don't want to do this again. We," she said, gesturing at Melvin and James, "we don't want to do this again. Why can't you get that?"

"Soph, come on-"

"Not tonight, Kate," Sophie said, already halfway out the door. Kate stared in shock as the door closed, leaving her with James and Melvin.

"She fucked up your arm," James repeated from earlier. "Think about if it was Sophie in your position."

"That isn't-"

"Isn't what? The same thing?" James interrupted. That he was voicing frustration shed light on the extents and length of time the trio had been sitting with these thoughts.

"James, come on," Kate replied, trying to temper the room's mood.

"You don't get to live by double standards, Kate. Stop disrespecting her," James replied before following the same path Sophie had taken a moment earlier.

Kate stared in disbelief as the door latched shut, leaving her alone with Melvin. Of all the people to call her out, she would have put James last on the list, but his words stung more than any other. Silence followed as Melvin hopped off his bed and moved to sit next to Kate on the couch.

"They're not wrong."

"It's not-"

"It's not a big deal. Yes. That's what you keep saying. That's all I hear everytime something new happens."

Kate fell quiet again at this.

"How's Monica?"

"You deflect too much."

"Did Sophie put you up to that?"

"She's fine," Melvin said, letting Kate's pivot slide. "Better and worse at the same time. They're talking about giving her an experimental treatment."

"Does it seem promising?"

"Yea."

"But?"

"But, insurance won't cover it; my parents just took out a second mortgage to cover the first set of bills. Apparently taking out a third mortgage raises eyebrows."

Kate nodded in understanding, unsure how else to contribute to the conversation but happy Melvin was talking through it. It had taken a number of weeks for Melvin to share more about Monica, and she understood why. Even though she'd never met her, Kate felt a kinship toward Melvin's closest sister. From what Melvin shared, she was quick-witted and never gave Melvin the benefit of the doubt. He looked up to his sister in a way Kate had always looked up to Beth growing up. Sure, being twins meant they were the same age, but she saw Beth for all the strengths Kate wasn't, and for that, she aspired to be more like her.

"I can't keep lying for you, Kate," Melvin said quietly, pulling Kate from her thoughts. "If this keeps up… they're already suspicious in case that wasn't already obvious."

"I know," she admitted softly.


	6. Chapter 6

Kate trudged up the final steps to the fourth floor, her legs heavy from exertion. One side effect of the early morning course runs was that Kate didn't need to do much else to stay in shape. Now that her participation had been temporarily suspended for the next three weeks, barring any delay to her cast's removal, she returned to her usual habits of going for morning runs through the woods on the weekends. Having fallen into the habit of waking up early on Saturdays, she was able to sneak out before the rest of campus woke up.

She had returned and took only vague notice of the bodies milling about, and after five minutes waiting in the lobby for an elevator, she gave up and took the stairs. It was only when she stepped onto the landing and a hum of conversation could be heard through the stairwell door that she remembered what day it was.

She pressed open the door to see adults twice her age milling about, laughing, and being granted tours of the dormitory by their offspring. She let out a small sigh of annoyance as she remembered the annual parents weekend tradition. For the second year in a row, Jacob had sent a brief apology for not being able to attend, citing important Crow reasons; this didn't bother Kate one bit if only because it guaranteed she wouldn't have to play the role of tour guide for the weekend.

Kate's eyes navigated around the sea of bodies as she determined the clearest path to her room and prepared for a day dodging introductions to parents from accidental run-ins. She was halfway across the lobby when she heard her name called through the delves of over-eager parents.

"Kate!"

Kate let out a resigned sigh, turning toward the sound when she practically jumped in surprise. Standing at the entrance to the fourth floor lounge were Sophie Moore's parents. She broke into a confused smile as she walked toward them.

"Mrs. Moore, I-"

"Diane, please," Mrs. Moore corrected. "Oh, Kate! So good to see you again. Is that a cast?"

"Oh, uh, just a small bump."

"Well the least they could do was give you something livelier," Mrs. Moore replied, gesturing toward the black color, and Kate had to suppress the sarcasm fighting for freedom on the tip of her tongue. Instead she fell back onto the surprise of seeing them in the dorm.

"Uh-I didn't realize you'd be here this weekend," Kate replied, before Mrs. Moore scooped her into a hug. Kate barely had time to register any discomfort and concern for her sweaty-state before she was released from the tight grips.

"Really? I thought Sophie would have mentioned it," Mr. Moore observed.

"Oh, it probably slipped her mind - she's been super, uh, busy, and well… we aren't rooming together this term, so-"

"So we heard," Mrs. Moore said with the skeptical look of a protective mother. "She's rooming with that other girl - Randy?"

"Riley," Kate offered. "And yea, it was… a surprise."

Mr. Moore offered a small wink and she felt her cheeks erupt nervously.

"Uh, so, where's Soph-phie?" Kate asked, stumbling over herself to correct her name-calling. She glanced away from another of Mr. Moore's small winks, cursing herself for feeling the blush of embarrassment threaten her casualness.

"Oh, she had to run off and fix some problem. Left us here saying it'd only be a minute-"

"-it's been twenty-" Mr. Moore interjected with a slight huff.

" _Erik_ ," Mrs. Moore chastised.

"What? I didn't drive eight hours not to see my baby girl, Diane," Mr. Moore clarified, scowling moodily at the situation.

"Uh, well… I… I really need to shower, but if she's not back in another twenty, I could try to cover for her until she's freed up? I know it won't be the same," Kate said quickly. "She, uh - she's probably balancing a few Parents' Weekend chores for the scholar program," Kate said, not quite believing the words coming out of her mouth; she was volunteering for the very thing she swore against doing, and it was to Sophie's parents of all people.

"Nonsense, I'm sure you've got plenty going on with your dad," Mrs. Moore rushed.

"Oh, he's not coming. Work stuff," Kate clarified quickly. "And it's fine. If Sophie gets here before I'm back, just have her message me so I know you haven't been kidnapped," she joked lightly.

"Better yet, let's remove the middle woman; what's your number?"

After another minute of negotiating contact information, Kate managed to peel herself away from the Moore's and completed the final steps to her room. Thankfully Chelsea was out tending to her own parents, and Kate had the chance to shake her head clear of the encounter, feeling dazed by the entire interaction. She was grappling with a number of things. The first was the fact Sophie hadn't told her that her parents were coming into town. It was a minor detail; one that she could excuse away. They'd both been neck deep in their own obligations the last few weeks, and it wasn't uncommon for them both to be blindsided by missed information these days.

What had her most concerned though, was the second item on her mind: things hadn't exactly smoothed over since their argument from a week earlier. In fact, Sophie was unwilling to be in the same room as Kate if she wasn't, as Sophie put it, 'willing to tell the truth'. This frustrated Kate to no end, and it was resulting in a stand-off for the ages that practically eliminated their already dwindling time together. She hesitated for an extra moment, worrying that her interfering with Sophie's parents would leave her girlfriend more peeved than before. Things felt weird between each other, and it had flavors of their summer which left a bad taste in Kate's mouth.

Instead of bailing though, she quickly made her way to the shower to clean up and, in surprisingly swift fashion, found herself back in the lounge to pick up Erik and Diane Moore for an impromptu campus tour.

She quickly sent Sophie a message of apology that went unanswered as the trio made their way out onto the quad. The morning was unusually warm for the time of year, and the sun made the campus feel especially lively as families walked around the grounds. There were a number of organized events, but those wouldn't take place until later in the afternoon.

Kate took Mr. and Mrs. Moore along the historic edge of campus, showing off all the old architecture that had made up the original masterplan. Mr. Moore was clearly more interested than his wife who was eagerly peppering Kate with questions about the semester. On more than one occasion she heard Mr. Moore chuckle at a particularly invasive question about Kate's dating life.

"Diane, leave the girl alone," he chastised at his over-eager better half.

"What? Kate doesn't mind, right?"

Kate managed to circle the conversation back to Sophie on most occasions, letting Mrs. Moore ask questions about her daughter that Sophie was too modest to answer truthfully.

"In chemistry, too?" Mrs. Moore gaped.

"Yea, honestly, it's pretty frustrating for the rest of us mere mortals when she sets the bar so high," Kate chuckled.

They'd heard mum from Sophie for the first hour, and Kate was just diverting them the long way past the drill courses toward the mess hall when a familiar voice rang through the air and plummeted Kate's good spirits.

"Cadet Kane."

"Do you know him?" Mrs. Moore asked as the male dressed in uniform approached them from the training grounds.

"Unfortunately," Kate muttered before forcing a smile onto her face.

"Lieutenant Reyes, good morning."

"I wasn't aware you were giving tours," he said matter-of-factly.

"Uh, well, Sophie was called away and-"

"Cadet Moore?" Reyes asked, beginning to piece together the strangers' identities. "You must be Mr. and Mrs. Moore."

"Diane, please. This is Erik," Mrs. Moore said, extending her hand to greet his in a swift shake. Reyes' look of skepticism quickly faded into an unfamiliar look of genuine excitement.

"And where is Cadet Moore?" Reyes asked with a hint of confusion.

"Of anyone here my guess is you'd know best," Kate replied with a slight edge to her voice. She took the tiniest bit of solace in the fact Reyes was doing his best to behave in front of the Moores.

"Sophie didn't mention you were coming in for the weekend. Had I known I'd have cleared her schedule," Reyes said apologetically. "Give me a moment to make a quick call, and we'll get this sorted."

Before any of them could respond, Reyes stepped away, his focus on the cell phone in his hands.

"He seems nice," Mrs. Moore said as they stood around idly waiting for Reyes to finish his conversation a few paces away.

"'Seems' is the operative word," Kate replied a little too casually, earning a snicker from Mr. Moore. A hesitant glance from Mrs. Moore compelled her to elaborate. "He's in charge of the Scholar Program that Sophie's involved in."

"But he's not nice?" Mrs. Moore asked curiously.

"I didn't mean… him and Soph get along great," Kate clarified, easing the look of growing concern on Mrs. Moore's face. "But he can be a bit of a… a…"

"A prick?" Mr. Moore offered, and Kate couldn't help but chuckle at the throwback to their conversation from the summer.

"Some would say that," Kate concluded as Mr. Moore shrugged away Mrs. Moore's look of disapproval.

"All settled, she'll be at the mess hall shortly," Reyes called as he rejoined the group.

"Oh, that is too kind of you Lieutenant," Mrs. Moore remarked.

"Nonsense. It was the least I could do for our most promising cadet," he replied, waving off her look of appreciation. Mrs. Moore practically beamed with pride at Reyes' words as Kate and Mr. Moore exchanged skeptical glances behind them.

"Cadet Kane, you are dismissed."

"What?" Kate asked in surprise.

"I will escort the Moores to the mess hall to meet up with Sophie. Your services are no longer required."

"But I wasn't-"

"That isn't necessary Lieutenant," Mr. Moore interrupted. "Kate has been doing a fine job so far; it'd be a shame not to finish our little tour with her."

"Cadet Kane doesn't do a fine job at anything," Reyes replied smoothly through his smile. "And as I said, Cadet Moore is one of our most promising students. The least I can do is ensure you're provided a quality tour of our beautiful campus."

An awkwardness settled across the group. For Kate, she was struggling to hold her tongue while for Mr. and Mrs. Moore there was a strange confusion that settled between them.

"Lieutenant Reyes is right," Kate finally said with as much casualness as she could muster. "He's practically as old as the campus and would be best suited to fill you in with all the fascinating details."

She had to restrain her mouth from slipping into a grin as Reyes' eyes narrowed while Mr. Moore's widened in thorough enjoyment at the swipe. Kate turned to leave but not before Reyes had managed to recover and pass down her sentencing: "Cadet Kane, a word."

Kate let out a small sigh before stepping toward Reyes who had moved a few paces out of earshot of the Moores.

"Tomorrow, 0800h."

"But you said-"

"The gymnasium. Do _not_ be late."

"Yes sir."

* * *

"Fancy seeing you again."

"Well, I do live here," Kate replied with a smirk, seeing Mr. Moore lingering in the hall. She was on her way to Melvin's when the familiar face showed up once again on the fourth floor. "You find Soph?"

Mr. Moore nodded. "She's with Diane in her room."

"Not interested in a tour of it?"

"I am all toured out," Mr. Moore said, walking to meet Kate in the lobby. "That Reyes guy is a real character. Took us on an hour-long detour before we finally made it to the mess hall. Kept talking about boats."

"He does love that metaphor," Kate chuckled.

"So what's the deal between you two?" he asked. His tone was casual but fatherly, and it caught Kate by surprise.

"Uh… we-we had a small disagreement at the beginning of term. It hasn't really settled since then."

"Well, continuing to make waves isn't helping," Mr. Moore replied casually.

"Sounds like those boat metaphors rubbed off on you," Kate joked back but noted Mr. Moore's face remained set.

"You know, Kate, believe it or not, sometimes getting the last word in isn't always the best strategy."

Kate fell silent at this, feeling like she'd just been reprimanded. She'd spent the better part of the last five years bouncing from empty apartment to empty apartment around Gotham that she'd forgotten what it felt like to be parented and the sting of disappointment that could come from it. Jacob had his own form of parenting, but that was typically more in ensuring Kate had a baseline preparedness in military training.

"And from the few times we've talked, I can tell you're not an idiot."

"Uh… thanks?" Kate replied hesitantly.

"So stop doing dumb stuff."

There was a pointed simplicity in Mr. Moore's words that wouldn't have landed the same way had it come from anyone else. She felt a small smile break across her face as she realized how much sense they made. For the entire semester, she had actively been making her life harder by letting herself slip in jabs at Reyes. If she tallied it up, those small victories paled in comparison to the impacts it was having on her life. This was only the second Saturday all semester she hadn't been off the course, and even with a medical excuse she'd managed to earn discipline for Sunday.

"I'll try," she offered, earning a small nod of approval from Mr. Moore as the door of 419 opened and Sophie and Mrs. Moore stepped out.

"Still interested in dinner?" Mr. Moore continued, waving the girls over. It had been a passing offer from earlier in the day, and Kate felt compelled to say yes at the time, but she felt a sudden discomfort as she made eye contact with Sophie whose own face fell slightly at the sight of Kate standing next to her father.

"Uh, well actually-"

"Kate! I was just about to message you. We're going to take a small walk along the edge of campus before dinner," Mrs. Moore greeted her.

"Uh, right, well I-"

"Melvin!" Sophie practically shouted. The interruption focused all attention on the approaching form who was clearly confused by the scene occupying the floor's lobby space. When he was within reach Sophie left Mrs. Moore's side and quickly pressed her lips to Melvin's, catching everyone by surprise - none more so than Melvin who only barely managed to recover before Sophie pulled away.

"Mom, dad this is Melvin," Sophie said, her cheeks red and her gaze avoiding Kate and Melvin's questioning looks. "Melvin, these are my parents: Diane and Erik."

"Melvin, we've heard so much about you," Diane gushed. She pulled him into a hug that rivaled the bone-crushing grip Kate had experienced earlier, and he did his best to mask the air being squeezed from him. "I was worried we'd never get to meet you. Sophie kept insisting you weren't imaginary, but you never really know what that girl."

"Mom-"

"Mrs. Moore, I-"

"Diane, please," Mrs. Moore corrected, releasing him.

"Uh, Diane, I've heard so much about you as well. It's so good to finally meet you. I… I didn't realize you'd be here this weekend?"

"Seems to be a trend," Mr. Moore muttered, shooting Kate a knowing smirk. "Care to join us for dinner? We were just leaving to head that way," Mr. Moore chimed in, standing precariously on the edge of the conversation and observing with a slight twinkle in his eye at the exchange unfolding in front of him.

"Yes, he'd love to," Sophie answered, shooting him a quick, pleading look. Melvin faltered only slightly before recovering with a confused nod of agreement. Sophie offered a quick peck on his cheek in thanks as her hand conspicuously slipped inside his. Kate noted the physical touch nearly sent Melvin spiraling into another round of confusion again as she was trying to grapple with her own surprise at the exchange.

"Oh, but Erik, we only have a reservation for four."

"I'll call. I'm sure they can fit in a spare-"

"Actually, I was going to have to bail anyway," Kate interrupted with forced casualness.

"Oh?" Mrs. Moore reacted, her surprise evident.

"Yea, uh… sorry, I should have said something sooner. I-I have this other thing I need to be up early for. I-I should really get some studying in before I call it an early night," Kate lied. "You guys go ahead though; put Melvin in the hot seat," she smirked toward him followed by a small look of apology when all eyes had left her.

"Well, only if you're sure. It won't be a problem to adjust the reservation," Mrs. Moore insisted.

"No, no, really. It's fine. It was great seeing you two. Will you be around tomorrow or-?"

"We've got to head out early," Mr. Moore said in apology, his face failing to mask his dissatisfaction with the conversation's trajectory.

"Really? Why?" Sophie asked in surprise.

"Your dad picked up the night shift this week."

"Next time, then," Kate offered in consolation with a small forced smile. She accepted a parting hug from Mrs. Moore and and Mr. Moore before leaving the group to head back to the dorm. In all of it, she noted with frustration that Sophie's gaze wouldn't meet her own. Instead, Melvin's eyes clung to her for an explanation, but all she could offer with the tiniest shrug in matched confusion.

* * *

"That was weird, right?" Melvin asked, setting down his empty cup.

"Was what weird?"

"Sophie."

"What about her?" Kate asked before turning Melvin's empty cup into a pair with her own set beside it.

"Why are you playing dumb? With her parents. And you bailed,"

Kate and Melvin were sitting alone in the dim lighting of 409 sharing something shitty and high in alcohol from James' side of the room. The dim lighting made the liquid more mysterious, and Kate was ok if she didn't learn anything else about it. James was still out entertaining his parents. They were a compelling juxtaposition to James: where he wouldn't know what or where his classes were if not for Melvin, his parents had arrived with an itinerary of things to do and see. That it was nearly eleven and they were still out spoke to the intensity of the schedule. The same was not the case for Chelsea. Her parents had arrived early in the day and retired early that evening, allowing her a chance to catch up with Tony over at some house party and leaving the dorm room free of distraction.

"You'll need to be more explicit. I don't understand what you're referring to."

This was a lie. Kate knew exactly what he was talking about. In fact, it was the only thing racing through her mind for every second of the evening since she watched it happen. Melvin had known enough to make a beeline for Kate's room when he'd returned to the dorms with the 80-proof peace-offering in tow.

"Stop it. You know what I'm talking about. She was all over me. And then at dinner… it was. It was a lot of kissing."

"You're her boyfriend," Kate replied coolly.

"I mean, sure, to the school… to our classmates, yea. But to her parents?"

"She hasn't told them yet," Kate said simply, although her voice carried a slight edge of frustration that she'd been working to contain.

"I didn't know that."

"Well, you seem up to speed now…"

"But she's going to, right?"

"Hm?"

"Tell them. She's going to tell them, right?"

"Sure," Kate replied, reaching for the bottle to replenish their empty glasses.

"Are you serious or are you just saying that?" Melvin asked, gratefully taking the second pour in a single shot.

"I mean… we haven't really talked about it," Kate said, recapping the bottle in thought. "Well, we sort of did once… twice, actually, but we shelved it for another time."

"You _both_ agreed to shelve it? Together?" Melvin asked skeptically.

"I wouldn't not, _not_ say that."

Melvin gaped back in surprise as he reached for the bottle Kate had just set down and splashed another pour into his own. This one lingered inside the paper vessel. He swirled it uneasily before setting it back down.

"What?" Kate asked, searching for clarity from the confused look written on his face.

"I just… I guess I'm surprised."

"Why?"

"Be-because you two have been together for like… practically forever-"

"Closer to seven months," Kate corrected. "Not even a year," she reasoned further.

"Officially, sure, but you had eyes for each other way before that."

"What's your point?"

"I just… I'm… don't you think she'd have told them? What about over the summer?"

Kate held her breath for a moment, not wanting this conversation to continue. She knew the moment Melvin appeared in her doorway that this was going to be the topic of conversation, and she was still struggling to wrap her head around it herself.

If she were honest, yes, the whole exchange bothered her, and she couldn't hone in on a single reason. Would she like to know her girlfriend wasn't hiding herself from her parents? Yes. Would she prefer that their time together wasn't clouded in Kate having to lie to the people closest to Sophie? Yes. Did she wish Sophie's parents knew her as more than just Sophie's ex-roommate - slash- friend? More than anything. But it wasn't her place to pressure Sophie into doing something she wasn't ready for. It had been the mantra of their relationship, and this instance was no different to any other limit Sophie had in place.

It also wasn't like her and Sophie were on the best of terms, so she didn't feel confident in her ability to go knocking on Sophie's door for an explanation. That left her alone with her own thoughts, and now Melvin was echoing the very doubts she'd been replaying over again and again.

"Kate, I'm not trying to cast doubt or anything… I just see the way she looks at you and am just… Christ, she's literally not talking to you because she can't stand the fact someone might be hurting you. This isn't something light for her, so why hasn't she told them? If… if she's serious about this - about you," Melvin continued, emboldened by Kate's hesitation. "You can't tell me you're ok with this."

"It's fine, Melvin. We're… it's not something that needs to happen this instant," Kate said, half-trying to convince Melvin and half-trying to convince herself with the same words she'd recited over and over on her own. "If she's not ready, I'm not going to pressure her."

Melvin hesitated, clearly wanting to say more but afraid to.

"What?"

"Nothing," Melvin said quickly.

"You're worse at lying than me."

"I just… what more needs to happen to be ready? She's obviously… you two are obviously good together. Anyone who knows the truth about you can see that-"

"So you and James…"

"I'm just saying, what more convincing does she need? And honestly, that's half the point: is it even a real relationship if only two other people know?"

"What? How can you-"

"That came out wrong," Melvin quickly clarified, seeing the narrowed stare Kate was giving him. "I just mean… this relationship exists in a bubble. A very small bubble. What happens after all of this? After school? Is… is she just going to surprise them with the news on graduation day? 'Hey, mom and dad, meet my girlfriend of four years I've been lying about…'"

"I don't know," Kate sighed. "M-maybe?"

"Like, I get it. I'd wig out too if I were about to tell my old man something like this, but Sophie's parents aren't my dad. They're like… they're great people. Like, they're almost impossibly great. I'm a tiny bit jealous at how cool her dad is. And I'm pretty sure based on a half-dozen side comments at dinner he knows you're gay."

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Blind people who live three countries away and have never met me know I'm gay," Kate countered, but Melvin's words struck an unintended nerve, and Kate felt another bucket of fuel added to the growing worry that Sophie had previously been so closed off about the subject. She started thinking back to the night they'd watched the Gotham Symphony Orchestra and the hesitations she had over discussing the future of their relationship and began recounting every conversation since then that carried a similar tone of indifference, indecision, or deflection.

"Have you two talked? I mean, since the other night?" Melvin asked. A look from Kate was all the answer she needed to know they hadn't. "Are you going to?"

"I… I don't know. I was sort of hoping it'd just blow over."

Melvin groaned dramatically as he tossed back his drink.

"Your stubbornness is getting out of hand," he said frankly, reaching for the bottle again. "Why don't you just tell her? She's just worried about you-"

"Your concern is noted Melvin," Kate said, swiping the bottle from Melvin's grasp with a scowl of disapproval.

"Ok, ok," Melvin said, lifting a hand in surrender. "But maybe-"

"No, enough," Kate interrupted, not wanting to hear from Melvin the same worries she carried. "Just drop it, ok?"

"Fine, but let me ask you this: do you think your relationship will survive if you don't tell her? Because we're both sitting in the dark drinking… I think this is rum?"

"There are definitely hints of tequila in this," Kate added.

"It doesn't matter," Melvin continued. "The point is, we're both sitting in the dark - literally and figuratively - because you've pushed her to the sidelines, and she knows it. I don't know why she did what she did tonight, but it can't be a coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Kate asked, struggling to track Melvin's logic.

"I'm just saying, if it were me in Sophie's shoes this entire semester, I'd be questioning a lot about this relationship."

Kate gaped in surprise. "But you just said not even five minutes ago she was practically smitten."

"Kate, no. That was sober, supportive Melvin saying that. This is tipsy Melvin now, and tipsy Melvin doesn't lie. Tipsy Melvin thinks you should be worried."

"I hate tipsy Melvin."

* * *

"Sophie, wait up."

"Hey," Sophie greeted Melvin as he jogged to catch up. "Thanks for last night. I meant to say something earlier: I know I put you on the spot and… and it wasn't my finest moment. I'm sorry."

"No worries," he smirked. "Had I known I was going to get to kiss Sophie Moore all night long I'd have worn my bowtie."

"You said you borrowed that."

Melvin shrugged.

"For what it's worth, Diane is smitten with you."

"Yea, but what about your dad? If I'm going to ask for your hand, I'll need the big guy's approval too," Melvin joked.

Sophie laughed, unable to muster a half-decent response.

"Still on for tonight?" Melvin asked, giving Sophie an out.

"You know I live for these raucous fake dates of ours, but given last night's adventure, I wouldn't hold it against you if we postponed."

"That feels a tiny bit condescending..."

"Sorry, it wasn't-"

"It's cool," Melvin smiled back.

"You're in a chipper mood," Sophie remarked, noting that her fake boyfriend was offering a boyish grin that had been missing for the better part of two weeks.

Melvin nodded in agreement.

"Any reason?"

"Just, uh… just some good news."

"Care to share with your fake girlfriend?" Sophie asked. She watched his smile fade slightly at Sophie's words, and she felt herself regret asking. "Sorry, I-"

"No, no, I… it's fine," Melvin sighed softly, as though bracing himself for the truth.

"Really, Melvin, you don't have to-"

"No, really. I… I've already told Kate and-"

"Not surprised," Sophie remarked lightly.

He smirked briefly at the retort before continuing. "Well, she keeps pestering me to talk about it. Probably because she needs sick of hearing about it-"

"I genuinely doubt that," Sophie replied, causing Melvin to visibly relax a bit more.

"Maybe…"

He took a shaky breath, suddenly hesitant before he felt Sophie's hand grip his arm tenderly. She offered a soft smile back and he suddenly felt those hesitations fade.

"My sister, uh… Monica - she got a sore throat this summer that just… it wouldn't go away. She tested negative for strep and mono and… it took them a few days to figure it out, but after that-"

"Thyroid?" Sophie asked.

Melvin nodded in affirmation, feeling comforted by Sophie's declaration that took place of his own.

"She was diagnosed and started treatment - I don't know the specifics, but it wasn't working. Then a couple weeks ago the doctors offered a trial drug, but insurance wouldn't cover it, so we just didn't consider it."

"I'm sorry-"

"No, no, it's… it's ok," he said, his grin returning. "The hospital has some pot of private funding and they dipped into that. They greenlit the treatment and are covering the fees internally. My parents - they just called this morning; she has her first session tomorrow."

"That… that's great," Sophie said, slowly processing all Melvin had just said and unsure how else to respond.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"You have nothing to apologize for, Melvin. This is… this isn't a light topic."

"I'm also not coming back next semester."

Sophie's encouraging look faltered. She gaped in surprise, suddenly feeling like a rug had been pulled out from under her. "What?"

"I… my parents are… I'm maxed out on student loans as it is, and I can't take out enough to cover tuition plus housing. My parents had been helping, but now… anyway, yea. I just… I should've told you sooner, but…" Melvin said apologetically. Sophie's words failed her as she grappled with the information.

"Does Kate…?"

Melvin nodded silently.

* * *

"I talked to Melvin last night."

"Uh… is there more to that or…?" Kate replied with a smirk. "Your context skills could still use some work-"

"He told me about Monica."

"Oh, right. He uh... he said the hospital was going to fund the treatment," Kate said, sharing the same news Melvin had offered the day before.

"Yea."

"Which is… it's great news."

"Yea."

An estranged silence fell between them, and Kate awkwardly turned her attention back to the textbook in front of her.

"He also said he isn't coming back next semester."

"Is that official?" Kate asked, looking up in surprise.

"What?"

"I didn't think he had filed the paperwork yet."

"Oh… I don't know? I'm just going off what he said."

Kate nodded as another wave of white noise hummed in the air. It turned into a handful of awkward minutes before Sophie broke in again.

"He also told me about Riley."

Kate felt her face go white as Sophie landed on the real reason they were here. She knew tonight was too good to be true: after nearly two weeks of the cold shoulder, Sophie had reached out to set up a study date in their usual study room. It was book-ended by a class and a study session with Riley, but Kate wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Now she wished she had.

"Um, wh-what about Riley?"

"Please don't play dumb."

"I wasn't try-"

"I will say it does explain this entire semester."

"Soph-"

"Why you've been inviting her around-"

"That was Reyes-"

"-the cover-ups-"

"I didn't-"

"-the lies, the cheating-"

"Soph, please-"

"All because she has some… what, some blurry little picture of you?"

"It's not that simple," Kate clarified, her tone sharp with frustration.

"Then tell me," Sophie replied, her voice fighting her own annoyance with wanting to be understanding but already feeling her patience wane.

"I thought you said Melvin told you."

"He told me enough to know you haven't been remotely truthful with me all semester," Sophie shot back. "Just… tell me. What's going on?"

"It's not…"

"Kate, if you don't start telling me the truth, I am walking out that door."

Kate felt her heart catch at Sophie's words. There was an intensity about Sophie's gaze that left her terrified. She knew without question that Sophie wasn't bluffing.

"It was... The summer after high school there was… the Gotham Gazette ran a story."

"About you?"

Kate nodded. "I didn't know about it; I didn't…" she fell quiet, the fingers of her good arm gripping at the pencil in her hand. "I didn't know it existed. It wasn't… I never paid attention to those things, but… Riley Thomas of all people saw it and - and remembered it."

"What was in it?"

"Enough to get me expelled," Kate said simply.

"Are you sure-?"

"I've seen it. I've read it. It's…" Kate gave a small chuckle of exasperation. "You know, the Gotham Gazette doesn't even have digital archives of these articles? It's such a temporary thing in the moment but… physical copies still exist."

"Where? How would she even-"

"Gotham public library, if you can believe it. It has a copy of every issue from the last… I don't know, forever," Kate said, falling back into her chair as she confronted the same facts she'd spent the semester trying to suppress. " _Apparently_ the Kane family is responsible for her father's unemployment status."

"Kate-"

"So she has some… vendetta?"

"This sounds more like blackmail-"

"He killed himself."

"What?"

"Her dad. So I guess it's a vendetta that's playing out as blackmail?" Kate mused.

"I don't understand; this was recent or-?"

"It happened a number of years ago - the job loss, I mean. Apparently he worked at the Gotham Press as an editor-"

"You owned the Gotham Press?"

" _I_ didn't," Kate clarified. "My Uncle Nathan did. He ran it an extra ten years after it was in the red before he finally shut it down. My dad always gave him shit for it, too; called it 'bad business strategy.' Anyway, that was probably around… I think I was just starting high school. The closure meant Riley's dad was out of work and then the recession happened, and he hit the bottle. Like half of Gotham, he never really recovered and then… it's why she missed last year."

Sophie sat in silence for a moment, absorbing Kate's words, suddenly seeing Riley's actions in a whole new perspective. "But she can't possibly blame you for - for this…?"

"I don't think we get to say who she does or doesn't blame for this."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I've already been doing it, Soph," Kate replied with a shadow of impatience. "There isn't anything else but this to do," she continued, referencing the semester of hurdle-jumping she'd been performing.

"The missing notes?"

Kate gave a small nod.

"The papers?"

Kate nodded again, unable or unwilling to make eye contact with her girlfriend.

"The rope?"

"...yea," Kate said, her voice cracking, unable to elaborate anymore.

Silence followed as Sophie absorbed the full truth for the first time. She'd experienced moments of doubt over the entire semester and had her suspicions, but suddenly facing confirmation of it all felt like an immeasurable weight.

"Maybe we can… I don't know."

"Soph, believe me, I've considered the options. It's fine… it's…"

"Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"What?"

"Why did I find this out from Melvin?"

"Probably because Melvin doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut," Kate shot back, the drunken conversation from two nights ago waving mockingly at the edge of her mind.

"This isn't funny."

"I'm not laughing, Soph," Kate retorted quickly.

Sophie fell silent in surprise.

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

"I… I don't know. Probably not," Kate answered honestly.

"Why?"

"Because of this; because I knew this is how you'd react. It isn't a big deal, Soph."

"Are you serious? Wh - no. No, being… being late for class isn't _a big deal_."

"Look, I'm just sayin-"

"I can think of a million things that aren't _a big deal_."

"Soph, plea-"

"No. But this? This is a big fucking deal, Kate. You're literally cheating for her. You're… you're giving her a free pass. You're letting her _hurt_ you. That isn't… That's not ok. I'm not ok with that."

Kate fell silent, noting with surprise Sophie's tone. She could count on one hand the number of times Sophie Moore had spoken so explicitly, and the glare she was giving Kate only emphasized how genuinely angry she was.

"How long?"

"Soph-"

"Kate. How long?"

Kate opened her mouth to deflect.

"And please do not lie to me."

Kate sighed in defeat. "Since the third week of the semester."

Sophie's face fell at this. "Kate, you should have told me… I just… I don't understand; why didn't you tell me?" The question was becoming an echo of itself as Sophie grappled with all the information.

"So you could do what, exactly?" Kate asked. "So you could add this to the list of things out of your control? Or maybe so you could worry constantly about it as though that category isn't already overflowing? Or, better yet, so you could-"

"I'm not saying any of that isn't true but... I thought… I thought we were supposed to be a team. It doesn't work if you don't tell me things."

"We are a team, Soph," Kate clarified quickly.

"Then why would you leave me in the dark about this? Why would you-" Sophie sighed in exasperation. "And why would you let her hold this over you?"

"What?"

"I'm not… I'm not suggesting you call her bluff, but this isn't like you. A year ago you were swearing up and down that you didn't care if the school expelled you for something like this."

"This is different."

"How? Are… do you feel guilty or… are you scared or… what?"

"I'm not scared; I'm not any of that, Soph," Kate said defensively.

"Then why are you letting this rule your life? You've literally broken bones to keep this hidden."

"Because," Kate replied defiantly.

"If you aren't going to be honest with me-"

"Because I don't want to leave, and because if I'm going to get kicked out, I'd rather it be over getting caught with the person I'm in love with and not because of some bullshit fling the Gotham Gazette captured the summer after high school," Kate said, scowling in frustration, her voice raised to reflect the same.

Sophie froze.

"Wh-what?" she finally mustered.

"She wasn't - it wasn't anything, I swear."

"No, wh- be-before that; what… what did you just say?"

Kate felt her face drain as she retraced her words and realized what she'd let slip. She gaped, noticing the look of shock on Sophie's face mirrored her own.

"I-I love you, Soph," Kate confessed quietly before she could stop herself. She instantly felt her heart lodge in her throat as her pulse quickened, pounding uninhibited in her ears. She felt her mouth go dry with every second of silence that followed. It was a long pause; one that seemed eternal as she watched Sophie grapple with the admission Kate had just blurted out.

"I… I-"

A bang made them both jump, and Sophie turned around to see Riley burst through the door, announcing her arrival in the loudest way imaginable.

"What's up bitches?" she shouted charging through the door. "All right. Let's start the clock: sixty minutes, then I'm out of here," Riley said, plopping down into a chair next to Sophie. She glanced between the two with growing confusion. "Is there a problem?"

"What? No-no. Let's, yea - let's get started. And… and it's two hours," Sophie stuttered as she reoriented herself to the open chapter of her textbook while Riley sighed dramatically at the extended punishment. "I… uh, Kate?"

"Yea, I… I was just leaving," she replied. She felt disoriented; there was a haze closing around the edges of her vision, and she silently cursed the shaking of her fingers as she collected her things. She hastily shoved everything away before quickly rising to leave, ignoring the questioning gaze from Riley and slight glances from Sophie.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been tweaking the last part of this chapter for weeks. It's evolved slightly to better reflect some context that came out of writing through this bundle of flashback chapters, but generally has kept the same spirit I started with; hopefully it doesn't disappoint.
> 
> Cheers,  
> EQT.95

"Nothing?"

Kate shook her head.

"But… it's been like, like-"

"Nineteen days," Kate said glumly.

"And nothing?"

"Melvin," Kate replied in exasperation.

"But she must… right?"

"If I knew that do you think I'd be asking your opinion?"

"Sure, but… maybe you missed it?"

Kate glared at him in disbelief. "I think I'd have noticed if my girlfriend told me she loves me."

"But she must… right?"

"You sound like a broken record."

"I'm just saying… I know you, and I know her. There's no way she isn't."

"This has been the worst advice session I've ever had with you."

"Honestly I'm just as surprised as you. That girl fell for you months ago; saying the words is really just a formality at this point."

Kate sighed, unconvinced by Melvin's words.

"Do you disagree?"

"I don't have an opinion anymore," Kate said.

"But you guys are good. You've seemed good."

"I mean… we're working through it. I get the impression she's still angry, but she won't admit to it when I ask."

"Hm."

"Hm, what?"

"Kind of playing reverse roles now."

"What does that mean?"

"That I don't think you're good."

"If I wanted someone unhelpful, I'd have just gone to James," Kate remarked in frustration.

"I don't know what to tell you, Kate. You dumped a lot on her in one conversation."

"I get that, but-"

"Two days after she pretended in front of her parents that I was her boyfriend."

"So wh-"

"A week after she watched her real girlfriend get tossed off a thirty foot wall by her roommate."

"I…"

"You guys aren't good."

Kate sighed, knowing Melvin was hitting on all the relevant points but not ready to admit it. The truth was that the last few weeks had been some of the strangest in her and Sophie's relationship. After her slip-up, Kate had sat in panicked silence inside Melvin and James' rooms for an hour before James threatened to kick her out if she didn't explain what happened. It took another hour before she could muster up the courage to describe the final two minutes of the exchange.

" _She looked like I'd just admitted to killing someone."_

" _I think that's just 'shock', Kate. Most people would just say she looked like a deer in the headlights."_

" _Aren't they both the same? It's the look of fear; of confrontation; of having to face down something you weren't wanting or expecting."_

" _I think maybe_ you're _the one in shock, Kate," James chimed in._

She'd ducked out shortly after, knowing Sophie would be wrapping up with Riley and didn't want to risk running into her in 403. This pattern continued for the next day; Kate forced Melvin to play the middleman, providing real time feedback to Sophie's coming and going. In that time, communication between her and Sophie was in limbo.

It wasn't until the evening on the day after that Kate stumbled into confronting Sophie. It was in the lobby - she was leaving for the mess hall and Sophie for the library when they practically bumped into each other.

" _Hey stranger, where've you been?" Sophie asked._

_Kate nearly did a double take at the relaxed tone Sophie offered._

" _Uh… wh-what?"_

_Kate blinked in confusion._

" _You didn't get dropped off in the middle of nowhere again, did you?"_

" _I… I am lost."_

" _With Reyes?"_

" _Oh, oh, n-no. That was a one-time thing," Kate explained of her latest Sunday-morning punishment with Reyes. It had been Reyes' ill-conceived plan to replicate the first year run, and she'd spent the previous Sunday morning on a leisurely stroll through the woods._

" _Gotcha," Sophie nodded. "Uh, well, I'm off to the library if you wanted to-"_

" _I was actually going to meet up with Chelsea and get some dinner…"_

" _Oh, sure."_

" _But I could swing by after."_

" _Yea, I'll… yea, I'll see you then," Sophie replied, a small smile on her face._

Kate's anxiety nearly had her bail, but Sophie's even-tempered mood was eating at her, and Kate needed to know what'd she'd have to say about their last conversation. She rushed through dinner and made her way to the library, getting to the entrance before she realized she'd left her bag back at the mess hall. She darted back to realize it and Chelsea were both gone. A chime from her phone let her know Chelsea had brought it back to the dorms. With a sigh of frustration, she made her way back toward the dorm.

Nearly forty minutes later she found herself in the dim hall of the basement library. As a cost-saving measure, the banks of lights would turn off if sensors weren't triggered. It was an eerie feeling to walk the length of the hall as she triggered each upcoming row of lights, as though counting down to some inevitable disaster. To her left were forgotten shelves of books that smelled of decades of disuse. To her right was a row of CMU blocks and the occasional door leading to the half-forgotten bays of study rooms. Above that was a continuous row of clerestory windows that glowed with occupants inside them. Behind the farthest door was the study room her and Sophie had spent the better part of the semester in, and Kate could see the soft glow from the windows flooding into the darkened hall beyond.

She flinched slightly when the last bank of lights went on, realizing that if Sophie looked up, the glow of them into the room would be an obvious sign Kate was there. Without a second thought, she gave a soft knock and twisted the handle. The door opened to reveal Sophie in her usual seat, surrounded by her usual books. She looked up in recognition of Kate and offered a smile of acknowledgement in her usual way. There was nothing about the moment that was unusual _except_ that it was so usual.

" _Have you started chemistry yet?"_

" _Uh… no. I was… I had another assignment to do."_

" _Paper for Chambers?"_

" _Yea."_

" _It was well written," Sophie said lightly, causing a small blush to erupt on Kate's cheeks._

" _Uh, thanks."_

" _Your argument about the costs of war would have benefitted from some financial stats though," Sophie continued._

" _I was saving that for mine," Kate smirked, taking a seat across from her._

" _You both got the Korean War?" Sophie asked, addressing the elephant full on._

" _Lucky draw," Kate shrugged. Instead of agreeing Sophie scowled slightly._

" _Can I read it when you're done?"_

" _Sure? Why?"_

" _To make sure they don't sound too similar," Sophie said easily. "It's one thing to write about different topics, but it's going to seem obvious if you recycle your thesis. Chambers might get suspicious."_

And that's how the next two and a half weeks went. Everything returned to normal, but concealed under that normality were conversations that pretended Kate's three-word confession had never happened. At first Kate was relieved; she took Sophie's silence on the topic as a chance to pretend she hadn't accidentally slipped up and admitted prematurely to being in love with Sophie. But the more time passed, the more she second-guessed this thinking. It wasn't premature; if anything, it was a belated admission, and Kate was beginning to genuinely worry that Sophie's avoidance was a hint at a bigger issue.

Queue her latest Lucy van Pelt session with Melvin.

"What do you think? I mean… you know her best," Melvin said, pulling Kate from her thread of thoughts.

"I've stopped having opinions. That's what you're here for, but clearly that's getting me nowhere."

Melvin scowled, understanding it to mean there was a lingering doubt in Kate's mind. He watched the slight traces of emotion play on her face before she caught his stare and shook herself of it.

"What?" she asked more confrontationally than she intended.

"Nothing… I was just thinking, you know, uh, while we're on the topic of things people won't admit: you'll never believe what happened," Melvin continued, trying to make the segue casual.

"What?" Kate repeated, pulling herself fully from her thoughts.

"I went to submit my paperwork to officially terminate my status for next term last week-"

"No shit, Melvin. I'm sorry. I'm such an ass for not asking you about tha-"

"-but when I went to the Bursar's Office they rejected them."

"What?"

"Citing that next term's tuition and board had already been paid in full. They said I'd be enrolled as scheduled."

"That… that doesn't make any sense," Kate scowled in confusion.

"Apparently a scholarship was applied."

"Huh…"

"They said private donors provide funds that get allocated as needed, and I was a recipient."

"That's great! So when do you start your shift babysitting Riley?" Kate teased.

"The timing is interesting. I hadn't told the school I wasn't coming back yet."

"That's a weird coincidence-"

"Thank you, Kate."

Kate blinked back. "I don't know what you're talking about," Kate continued.

"I know. It'll be a mystery for the ages," Melvin continued, knowing an admission would never come out of Kate's mouth.

"So does this mean-?"

"Can't put that mysterious nonrefundable money to waste, can we?"

Kate broke into a smile. "Well, I for one am glad to hear that. James… maybe not so much. I heard he was going to turn your room into a real bachelor pad to bring the ladies back."

Melvin burst out into laughter. "I can see it now - the faux bear rug-"

"-the lava lamps-"

"-and some shitty man-scents-"

"-like 'Everest Trout Pine'-"

"-or 'Lumberjack Beach Breeze.'"

The laughter continued as more and more preposterous ideas came flowing between them before eventually waning into only the occasional outburst of giggles.

When the mood had finally sobered again, Melvin turned to Kate, "She loves you. She might not be ready to say it yet, but she does."

"I hope you're right," Kate replied, feeling vulnerable at the way she clung to her own words.

"When am I ever not right?"

Kate opened her mouth to start the list.

"-about you two," he clarified, seeing where Kate was about to take it. Kate closed her mouth and pondered for a minute before a small smile crept over her face. "It's called Tactical Strategy."

* * *

"Any plans for Thanksgiving?"

"What does this have to do with chemistry?" Riley asked in disinterest.

"Nothing, just curious. Do you?"

"No."

"Not even a trip home? Gotham, right?" Sophie asked, trying to maintain the allure of casual as she reviewed the chemical equations Riley had just done.

"No."

"I could give you a ride if you wanted to surprise your fami-"

"What did I just say?" Riley interrupted, wearing a glare of impatience. "And what's with the sudden interest in my life, huh?

"I was just… we just - I feel like we've spent the entire semester at odds, and we've never really tried to get to know each other," Sophie replied, glancing up from the work with a small smile.

Riley's eyes narrowed with skepticism.

"My parents are in Europe for Thanksgiving," she replied lightly.

"Your… parents? Really?" Sophie asked in confusion.

"Yea, Dad does super important work and Mom loves to travel."

"Oh… your dad - wh-what kind of work does he do?"

"Stuff with numbers. I don't know, it's all rather boring if you ask me."

"Oh, so like an accountant or-or-"

"Sure," Riley replied offhandedly.

"Where?"

"What?"

"Where in Europe?"

"Oh who knows. All over, I'm sure."

"Ah, right," Sophie replied, trying to wrap her head around the lies she'd just been fed. She looked up and saw Riley eyeing her critically before a growl of realization changed Riley's demeanor entirely.

"She told you," Riley said suddenly in accusation.

"Who told me what?" Sophie bluffed.

"You've got a shit poker face, Moore."

"Look, before you say anything Riley, I can explain-"

"It's cute. I'm sure she played the victim card well. Told you all about how she's innocent in this game."

"Riley, hang on, I didn't- she didn't-"

"I've seen that look of sympathy for years; even before he offed himself. While we scrubbed together every penny and nickel and dime we had to pay rent-"

"Wait, I wasn't-"

"While _he_ was off suffering through his own hell," Riley continued. Sophie hesitated, wishing she hadn't just broken the dam to Riley's anger. There was a suddenness about it; like a flip had switched.

"Riley, I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that would have been like-"

"But you know the most offensive part of it all?"

Sophie shook her head, unprepared for the specificity of and hatred in Riley's remarks.

"The day after he died? The day the Gotham Gazette published his obituary? It gave more space to the fucking elite who became rich off the backs of people like my father."

"Riley, I-"

"My father's memory had to share space on page twelve with, of all people, Kate Kane's hot new hook-up," Riley hissed, her hatred like nothing Sophie had ever experienced. Sophie hesitated with this new revelation and found herself wishing she'd never said anything, realizing she was now trapped with the bomb she'd just set off. She spent half a moment wondering if Kate had been granted this piece of information before realizing that probably wasn't a nuance that had come up when Riley blackmailed Kate months ago.

"Kate was in high school, she… she couldn't have known-"

"Kate is a Kane. The Kane's own half the city but never once have they _helped_ the city. They treat people like my father as temporary; as replaceable; as pawns to make more money."

"But Kate isn't… she isn't like that. She-"

"You grew up around Gotham, right?"

"Yea, but-"

"How was that? You feel enriched by the tiny homes, the rampant unemployment, the-the crime? Knowing you'd never make it out of the hell-hole you were born into? The suppression? "

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm black. I don't need Gotham for that," Sophie shot back. "And yes, that existed - exists - but you can't blame the history of the city on one teenager."

"Can't I?"

"No, Riley, you can't-"

"Why? Because it's unfair? Are only the wealthy allowed to unfairly take advantage?"

"No, but-"

"Exactly-"

"But that doesn't mean you're in the right either. You think this article you have will, what, it will make Kate a better person? She's already a good person-"

"No. I don't care about that," Riley interrupted. "I want to make her feel the thumb her family has put the people of Gotham under for decades."

"That's… Riley, that's so messed up. You get that, right? She has literally done nothing to y-"

"Why are you defending her? Don't you see what she is? Why are you friends with something like that?" Riley asked. She surveyed Sophie for an answer.

"Because she isn't what you're describing. She cares about people. She's been through her own shit, but she still cares."

"You know she's obsessed with you, right?"

"I… what?" Sophie said, thrown by the tangent. This was not something Kate had shared with her.

"She watches you. Haven't you noticed?"

"I… no?" Sophie replied, surprised by Riley's remark.

"That doesn't freak you out?"

"I… I've never-"

"What if she tries to turn you?"

"Turn me?"

"Gay."

"I… I think I'll be ok," Sophie replied, a small scowl if disapproval forming over her brow.

"Can you imagine if she got her way and roomed with you though?" Riley continued, and Sophie suddenly understood this was just another one of Riley's games: she was trying to get Sophie to turn on Kate.

"Well, I spend most nights with Melvin anyway, so...," Sophie replied, trying to dismiss Riley's comment.

"Do you think she watches Chelsea, too?" Riley mused, her questioning continuing.

"I… Riley, I…" Sophie stumbled.

"Is that what would get you to see?"

"What? Get me to see what?"

"If she was preying on other people at this school. Clearly you'll turn a blind eye when it comes to you, but what is your threshold? Do you need more proof?"

"I… Riley, I don't understand. Proof for what?"

"To understand the kind of people the Kanes are."

* * *

"She's… she's…"

"Soph, it's ok-"

"No… no it's not. She's…"

"Maniacal?"

"That…"

"Good word, right?" Kate grinned. "My tutor can't take credit for that one; that was all me."

"Kate, this isn't funny. This isn't ok. It's-"

"Soph," Kate said softly, reading the anxiety on her girlfriend's face. She slipped her hands around Sophie's waist, pulling her to her. "It's ok, ok?"

They were in Kate's room which broke rule number three, but when Kate saw the heightened state of frustration on Sophie's face at her door, she quickly ushered her in, taking care to quietly lock the door as she closed it behind her. It took another ten minutes to get a full rundown of her confrontation with Riley.

"You shouldn't have pressed her," Kate said softly, frustrated that Sophie's upset was tied to Riley's feud with her.

"So I'm just supposed to... what, just let this happen? Let her keep getting away with things?"

"Yes," Kate answered simply.

"How have you been doing this all semester? You're bending over backwards for this," Sophie whispered into Kate's shoulder after a minute, letting the slow, comforting circles Kate's hands were drawing on her back calm her into speaking clearly.

"Well, I have this really great girlfriend-"

"Kate-"

"You should meet her. I think you two would really hit it off-"

"Kate, I'm being serious. She's… conniving," Sophie said, pulling away from Kate's hold. She looked into Kate's eyes with a world of concern and worry swimming at the edges of her own, threatening to spill onto her cheeks.

"And I'm being serious, too," Kate replied with a smile that juxtaposed Sophie's worry. "This - you; you are how I'm coping, Soph. After every run-in with her, I know I've always got you to turn to. You make every bump and bruise and fall worth it."

Kate's comment sent a tear loose down Sophie's cheek, and Kate quickly lifted her hand to wipe it away.

"That's not worth this," Sophie said softly.

Kate blinked away the small shock of surprise from Sophie's words. She opened her mouth, a desire to repeat her words from days earlier struggling on the tip of her tongue before finally settling on safer ground:

"I guess we've each got our own flavors of Riley to deal with, don't we?" Kate chuckled, pulling Sophie to her. "If anything, we're doing each other a favor."

"Oh?"

"Can you imagine what the full power of Riley would be if she didn't have multiple targets?"

"That sounds exhausting. She tried convincing me you were preying on women on campus."

"Now _that_ sounds exhausting. Can you imagine all the work it'd take? It took practically an entire year just to get you."

"I think we should have a talk about how your memory is failing you," Sophie chuckled.

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to," Kare shrugged. "At least you'll have a few days off soon," Kate continued in reference to the upcoming four days Sophie would be away for Thanksgiving.

"Mhm," Sophie said, before slipping out of Kate's hold. "Uhm, I should…"

"Yea, sure," Kate replied in surprise, feeling the cool Sophie's absence from her arms brought. "Uh, did you want to grab dinner together? I've got class till five and have to meet with Reyes, but after-"

"I have a session with Erwin," Sophie said apologetically, already reaching for the door.

"Right," Kate said, feeling rushed by Sophie's departure. "Hey, wait-" she called, Sophie already halfway out the door. "Is… is everything else ok?"

"Yea, of course," Sophie said quickly, glancing down either side of the hallway. "Why?"

"No… no reason," Kate said, feeling her nerves surge at another missed opportunity.

* * *

"Come in," Reyes' voice came from within the office.

Kate opened the door to find him sitting behind his desk, spectacles on the edge of his nose as he surveyed some nameless paper.

"Have a seat, Cadet Kane."

She hesitated, not entirely sure what the purpose of the meeting was. Her cast had been removed that day and she'd been cleared by medical, but this meeting had been requested in advance of that. More still, it was the week of Thanksgiving break, and she had assumed even with medical approval she wouldn't have to run a course this weekend since most students would be away from campus.

A minute passed in silence as Reyes finished reviewing the forms in front of him. Finally, he assembled the stack into a neat pile and slid it into a folder. He removed his glasses and looked at Kate for the first time since she'd entered.

"Thanksgiving plans?"

"Sorry?" Kate asked, unable to contain her surprise.

"Going home?"

"Uh, no, sir."

"Not interested in turkey with the family?"

"Lamb, actually, and no - not this year."

"Why is that?"

"Doing a double-run of the fourth year course sounded far more exciting," Kate said before she could catch herself. She heard the words from Mr. Moore echo in her ears, and she nearly sighed in frustration with herself. "I'm sorry that was… that was out of line."

Reyes leaned back into his chair, studying Kate in the renewed silence.

"What do you think you run that course for, Cadet Kane?"

"Because you tell me to."

"And why do I do that?"

"Because you have nothing better to do?"

"I thought a semester would have provided a slightly more enlightened response, Cadet Kane."

"And I thought your purview was the scholar's program."

"Purview?"

"Like it?"

"It's difficult to say."

"I can't take credit. I've got a decent tutor."

"Interesting remark given your history," Reyes replied, observing Kate. "I wouldn't think a scholar would need a tutor."

"I wouldn't know, sir."

Reyes eyed her curiously. "Yes, my purview is the scholar's program, Cadet Kane, and that goes for all scholars. Even the ones who turn down a scholarship."

A small scowl sat on Kate's brow. "Seems like your time could be better allocated on things that matter."

"Why wouldn't you matter?"

"I thought a semester would have provided a slightly more enlightened response, _sir_."

At this Reyes was unable to refrain from smirking.

"Enlighten me for a moment then: why did you turn down the scholarship?"

"Because I heard the guy who runs the program is a real pain to work with," Kate replied easily.

"You realize no one in the history of the academy has ever done that before."

Kate shrugged. "I'm not struggling to pay my way."

"And surely you understand that's not the soul purpose of it," Reyes added.

"I don't need someone to tell me how to spend my time to know where it matters," Kate said easily, and she knew Reyes understood what she was alluding to.

"You're smart, Kate. You're also a natural leader. You've been squandering both of these attributes in a pissing match with me all term. It's been frustrating to watch and not something I thought needed to be said explicitly to you given your upbringing."

"I guess I'm not as smart as you thought," Kate tried to dismiss, but Reyes shook his head.

"No, you're still smart. You got that from Gabi," Reyes said, and Kate's eyes widened slightly at the mention of her mother. "It's the stubbornness and pride I underestimated. I suppose that rubbed off after years with Jacob."

Kate stared back, speechless, as she grappled with the casual discussion of her parents.

"While you've established that you seem to know where to spend your time to make it matter, some guidance never hurt. You'll be working with first and third years next semester in addition to your current crew of second-year misfits," Reyes continued, as though the casual remark hadn't just sent Kate into a fit of confused silence. "That little training session you do with your peers? We'd like to see how you fair with a larger group."

"What?" Kate finally spoke. "I… I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"You will report directly to me. The first two weeks of spring term will be spent developing benchmarks together. After that I will have no role in how the work is executed, but I will expect weekly check-ins to discuss progress and adjustments to the strategy," Reyes added, breezing past the surprise on Kate's face.

"Wait, you can't just do this. This is… this is… I'm not a scholar."

"As I understand it, you started this little group last fall, correct? So as far as I'm concerned, you've acted like one for three terms."

"Not true," Kate argued back in denial.

"Are you rejecting this assignment from a commanding officer?" Reyes said evenly, not breaking eye contact with Kate.

Kate looked like she might confirm this but instead remained quiet.

"Like I said Kate, you're smart. You can lead. But you need to learn that sometimes the best way to serve is to take the direction given and accept that you don't always know best. You failed to learn that all term and, in resisting that, spent weekends answering for your pride. I don't care if you are stubborn or proud; what matters is that you know how to control and look past that for the good of the many."

"I… I don't know what to say, sir," Kate answered honestly.

"That must be a first for you."

Kate couldn't help but smile in surprise.

"You've caught the attention of a number of commanding officers who are intrigued by your work. I will reach out to schedule another meeting after this long weekend. Please come prepared with the training itinerary you've used this past term."

"Yes, sir."

"I look forward to working together, Cadet Kane."

* * *

"Hey."

"Hm?" Sophie said, her eyes not leaving the notebook in front of her. It was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and the day after Kate's meeting with Reyes. They'd been silently studying for the last hour, and Kate was getting antsy.

"What are you doing for New Years?" Kate asked.

"Nothing if we don't pass this history exam."

"Sure, but, let's say hypothetically you ace the exam. What are y-"

"Hypothetically?" Sophie asked, darting her eyes up from the pages in suspicion.

"Well, obviously you'll ace it, but you'd accuse me of jinxing it if I said that," Kate reasoned.

Sophie opened her mouth to argue before stopping herself. "Fair point."

"So?"

"So what?" she replied, her eyes returning to the textbook.

"New Years?"

"What about my lackluster CV in the party department makes you think I have plans?"

"I… well, mostly I was just trying to be polite."

The glare of mock annoyance from Sophie caused a smile to break across Kate's face.

"Do you want to come to a party with me in Gotham?"

"No."

"Oh," Kate replied in surprise. "Did… do you want to think about it or…?"

Kate paused waiting for Sophie to elaborate. Instead, Sophie's attention was focused entirely on the textbook and notes in front of her.

"Uh… well… Evan is hosting, and I know last time wasn't exactly the greatest experience, but I was thinking maybe we could-"

"Kate."

"Yea?"

"I'm not interested."

"Are you sure-? Ok, ok," Kate said, conceding to Sophie's stare of annoyance. She turned her attention back to her own textbook, reading and rereading the same paragraph over and over again, a lingering question still unanswered: "But what if it wasn't Evan's? I mean, would you want to do something together for New Years? Could come to Gotham and-"

"No."

"Like, 'no' that's a bad idea or 'no' you aren't interested in doing something?" Kate pressed.

"'No' to all of it."

"But… wh-is it… did I do something?" Kate asked, her eyes scanning Sophie as her mind ran through the last few days for an explanation for Sophie's tone. Everything had been as normal as could be, with the exception of Sophie's run-in with Riley the day before.

"No, Kate I… I really just want to get some studying done, ok?"

"Right, but is that all? I mean, if it's something else I can shelve the winter break plans discussion until you're rea- hey, wait, what are you doing?"

"Going somewhere quiet to study."

"What? No, it's - I'll shut up. I'm-hey, would you just -Soph-"

"Kate, I'm not interested right now."

"But-"

"No, I… I don't want to stop working to talk about this. I'm leaving whether you monologue or not."

Kate watched in shock as Sophie assembled her supplies and books into a pile and left the table without another word.

* * *

"Hey, have you seen Soph?"

"You two are the worst at keeping track of each other," James complained.

"Melvin?" Kate asked, ignoring James' remark.

"No, why?"

"We had a bit of a… a thing last night. I was hoping to catch her after exams, but we finished at different times."

"Isn't she heading home today?" Melvin pondered aloud.

"Yea, but she's not in her room."

"Maybe she already left," James mused, earning him a quick glare from both Kate and Melvin. "What? It's not _impossible_. You did it before."

"That was different-"

"Was it?" James asked. "I mean… you said you fought. Sounds the same to me…"

"Don't antagonize. Kate never said they fought," Melvin chastised as James huffed in response. "She should be done with classes; I think she had to stop by the Reyes' office for something. Maybe she's back in her room, and you just missed her?"

"Maybe…" Kate admitted when a ping from her phone caught the attention of all three.

"Ha, I bet that's her," Melvin smirked. "Typical, she messages you but not her boyfriend. With girlfriends like that, amirite?"

_DM: We're sorry to hear you can't join us for Thanksgiving. If you can spare a few minutes it would be wonderful to see you when we pick up Sophia today. You'll have to come visit over winter break when your studies aren't so intense._

"What is it?" Melvin asked, seeing the confusion riddled on Kate's face.

"I-I have to go."

"Told you - she already left," James said as Kate walked away.

"Would you shut up, man?"

* * *

Sophie barely had time to respond to the knock on her door before it flew open with a very serious and confused Kate barging into the room. Kate glanced around to make sure Riley was nowhere to be found before slamming and locking the door behind her.

"Kate, wh-"

"What is this?" Kate interrupted, lifting her phone to Sophie's face. Sophie's eyes squinted to focus on the glowing screen before her face fell.

"I… I..." Sophie stammered. Her face transformed into a mix of surprise and fear as her words were lost to Kate's imposing stare.

"Why is Diane Moore messaging me about not making it to Thanksgiving?"

"Kate, I can explain."

"Great. how about you start with the easy one: did your parents invite me to Thanksgiving?"

Sophie hesitated, suddenly feeling very small and at war with her thoughts. Finally she nodded in confirmation.

"I was going to tell you, but… but then…"

"But then what?"

"I… I don't know."

"That's not a real answer, Soph. If you didn't want me at Thanksgiving that's… it's - that's fine, I can live with that, but you didn't… you should have said something," Kate continued, struggling to understand the uncertainty she saw in Sophie. She watched Sophie's lingering hesitation keep her from speaking, and Kate felt a flare of anger. She took a calming breath before continuing. "I- I'm sorry. I… I'm just confused… and surprised. I know the last few weeks have been weird but... didn't we just do this three weeks ago? What happened to telling the truth? I don't understand why you wouldn't just te-"

"I think we should break up."

The words were simple, but they zapped the energy from Kate. She took a step back as though she'd just been slapped across the face. Silence followed as she struggled to process Sophie's words. Her mouth felt dry as she opened and closed it a handful of times, all the while watching Sophie stand silently across from her.

"Is this because of last night? Because I was… that-"

"No," Sophie said softly, shaking her head.

"If it's about Riley, I… I'll go to Lieutenant Reyes or-or someone and tell them-"

"It's not… Kate, it's not that," Sophie interrupted again, her eyes closing in frustration.

"Is… Soph, if this is because I told you I love you, I can-"

"No, Kate, it… no," Sophie said, fighting back the tears in her eyes as she averted her gaze to her fingers distractedly fidgeting with the zipper tab of her bag.

"But… Soph wh-why?"

"Because…" Sophie began, not looking up. She took a shaky breath, afraid to say what had been lingering on her mind for weeks.

"Soph, if… I need you to explain this to me. Like, actually explain this to me," Kate said cautiously. There was a pleading in her voice as she scanned Sophie's face for an explanation.

"Just… just because…"

"That doesn't work. I need more than that."

"Because I think I'm falling in love with you," Sophie finally whispered.

Kate gaped back with a small laugh of disbelief.

"Wh… S-so you… you want to break up?" A smile of surprise flashed over her face. This was the last thing she expected Sophie to say, and the shock of her admission sent a strange energy and excitement through her.

It disappeared just as quickly though when she realized Sophie's face wasn't reacting with the same feelings.

"Just… Kate, I think it's for the best."

"No… no. That… you… you get that makes no sense, right?" Kate replied nervously. "Soph, I… I don't think that's how relationships work. I mean… I'm not super experienced in this but, I feel like you don't call it quits over this," she said, trying to keep her tone light.

Sophie didn't respond. Instead a single tear fell down her cheek.

"Kate, I'm… I'm sorry."

"No," Kate said, "don't, Soph-"

"Kate-"

"No, I… I'm calling bullshit. I don't buy this for a second. What is this really about? Real talk," Kate flailed, beginning to lose control of her thoughts. She watched Sophie waffle with her words before daring to speak again.

"I can't do this, Kate. I can't… "

"Soph, what can't you do? Just tell me. Just… start there," Kate said slowly in an effort to calm her own flood of worries and frustrations at Sophie's lack of explanation. "Start with that so I know what's going on... so I can understand."

"Everything is just so - we should never have... I don't know who I was kidding or-or what I was thinking."

"I get that this semester has been weird. Things have been… I know I messed up, but I thought-"

"You didn't…" Sophie interrupted, forcing herself to take a breath to control the quivering in her voice. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"That's not what it sounds like. Just… give me a chance; let me fix this."

"You can't, Kate. You can't fix this because I can't… I-I can't date you. I can't... I can't be in love with you."

Kate watched Sophie break down into a fit of tears, and a slow realization grew inside of her.

"I'm so sorry, Kate. If it were… if we were a-a… if things were different..."

"You mean if we were a 'normal' couple?" Kate interrupted with an edge of anger and sadness in her voice. "Is that what you mean? Then this would be ok?"

"I'm sorry," Sophie whispered through another tear, her fear on full display.

"If you're sorry then don't do this."

"Kate, you've met my parents."

"I have; they're amazing people," Kate said, trying to strike the balance between her own disorienting emotions and remaining cool-tempered.

"I… they would never. If I ever told them about… about us…"

"Soph, they would still love you."

"That's easy for you to say; look at your family."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kate asked, recoiling at Sophie's words.

"I didn't mean it like that," Sophie continued apologetically. "I just mean that you… you're from the city. You're from a world where you don't get excommunicated for the person you love."

"Soph, this isn't… where is this coming from?" Kate asked, but the moment the words came out of her mouth, deflected conversations from the entire semester came rushing back. It had been there for months: Sophie's hesitations, her unwillingness to broach long-term goals. Kate blinked in surprise, realizing it had been there all along, and she'd ignored it.

"They don't need to know yet," Kate quickly clarified.

Sophie shook her head, "That's the problem. I don't think they can ever know. I couldn't… and after I saw you with them this summer and then my dad couldn't stop talking about you at dinner with Melvin, and I… Kate you've done nothing wrong. If anything you've done everything right, but I haven't been fair. You deserve a relationship that-that isn't with someone too afraid to-"

"Soph, stop. Just… just wait a second," Kate interrupted, realization slowly dawning on how seriously and for how long Sophie had been considering this. She felt her hands instinctively reach out for Sophie and watched in surprise as Sophie retreated away from them. "Soph… you - this isn't… You don't actually mean this, right? I don't care if you don't tell them-"

"Yes you do, Kate," Sophie interrupted, calling out Kate's bluff. "All of this is… this isn't how you do things; this isn't how either of us do things," she said through freely falling tears. "You don't date people in secret, and I don't date women."

"But I'm willing to change that if you are," Kate pleaded, her own eyes fighting the sting of tears.

"I can't lie to my parents, Kate."

"I… we can - we can… I don't know. Can we just take a second? Please, Soph. We can figure something out."

Kate watched Sophie for a sign that she'd reconsider - that she might budge on her stance, but instead was met with a wall of silence. A moment turned into a minute before a low buzzing broke the suffocating silence, and Kate and Sophie's eye both darted toward Sophie's phone glowing with an incoming call. Sophie quickly grabbed it up, answering with a forced lightness:

"Hey mom! Where are- … oh, ok… mhm, yea… great, I'm almost done packing… no, no, I'll come to you… she, uh…" Sophie continued, glancing across at Kate, "she's at the library, actually… I know… maybe next time… ok," Sophie said before hanging up. "They're downstairs. I should…"

"Right, sure," Kate said, nodding in shock, the stun of Sophie's words hitting her in waves. She backed her way toward the door as Sophie rushed to wipe away the trail of tears from her cheeks and finish packing. A sense of loss filled Kate, and a fear that four days apart would cement Sophie's resolve sent her into a fit of panic. She hesitated at the door. "If I hadn't… if I hadn't said I loved you-"

"Kate, please don't-"

"Soph, if I'd never said those words, would we be having this conversation right now?"

Sophie stared back into Kate's heartbroken eyes as another tear broke loose onto her own cheek. "I don't know."

Kate swallowed, her throat tightening. "Can I take it back? Can we just… can we rewind to three weeks ago?"

"Kate… it-it wouldn't change anything. It would…" Sophie blinked and another tear fell. "This was always going to happen."

"You don't know that."

"I do. I-I did; which is selfish, I know... but I didn't… I wasn't thinking when we started that… that'd I'd fall in love with you or that you'd… I didn't realize you'd love me, and now it's… I'm sorry, Kate."

"I love you, Soph," Kate replied softly. She didn't know what the words would do at this point, but there was a realization that she may never be able to say them again.

"I know," Sophie said, her voice shaking with emotion.

"Then you'll know I want you any way that works. Even if… please just remember that, ok?"

Kate watched Sophie nod silently as she fought back another wave of tears. Kate had to fight every instinct to stay, but she also knew forcing anything more would meet resistance, and the discomfort of that in front of her parents would only drive Sophie away faster.

"See you when you get back?" Kate asked, searching for a thread of hope.

"I… I don't think we sh-"

"Please… please just say 'yes,' Soph."

"I need to finish packing."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter diverges a lot from how it started a few weeks ago. After I posted the last chapter, I realized the end of this term needed a different... well... ending, and I've effectively scrapped a chapter and a half of material to pursue that. I think it's going to produce a much better story going into the spring term; hopefully this is met with reader agreement.
> 
> In light of that, I've also decided to stay in these flashback chapters. I'm not abandoning the main storyline, but a. I love writing the Point Rock chapters and b. I feel like this backstory makes the current timeline story more meaningful. I'll return to it at some point because I've already got ideas of part ii, but I plan to linger a while longer in the past.
> 
> Here's to a better and happier New Year!
> 
> Cheers,  
> EQT_95

"You hungry?"

"No."

"We could go over to Wilfred Hall."

"I'm good."

"Do you wanna study?" Melvin asked, scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas. A glance from Kate was all the answer he needed to know that suggestion didn't have legs.

He was sitting on Kate's bed watching the shell of someone who had become his rock of support over the last semester stare blankly at the ceiling.

"So are you going to tell me what happened, or do I have to guess?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Is it because you told her you love her?" Melvin asked, ignoring Kate's response.

Kate shook her head. "No."

"Then what is it? Are you not studying hard enough?" he tried to joke.

Kate didn't reply.

"Was Hanukkah cancelled?"

"She said she was falling in love with me," Kate said, giving in to Melvin's pestering.

"Really? That's… then why aren't you celebrating? Why… I don't understand… why do you look like your pet cat just died?"

Kate stared up at the speckled, plastered ceiling, trying to find the ability to say the next words. "Because I think she just broke up with me."

"Wait, what?"

"Yea."

"But she loves you."

"Yea."

"That… I don't understand."

"Yea."

"I need more than just a 'yea,' Kate."

"I know."

"Kate?"

A moment passed before Kate sighed into explanation. "She's scared. She… this isn't the kind of relationship she's ready to be in."

"You mean, like, something this committed?" Melvin asked.

"No, I mean like something this gay."

"Oh," Melvin replied, suddenly understanding the conflict.

"Yea."

"Mm. You think she'll change her mind? Maybe she's… I don't know, maybe she'll-"

"I think the look on her face said she was very much decided about it."

"But maybe she could-"

"Melvin… I appreciate your attempts at a positive spin and the whole silver lining thing, but right now… right now it's not going to work."

Melvin watched Kate for a minute longer, trying to see behind the blank expression she wore. He knew she was hurting, but he couldn't fathom how to begin fixing it.

"You wanna get shitfaced?"

Kate let out a laugh of surprise before shaking her head. "Sure, just roll into the weekend making bad life choices."

"I… yes, that's why I suggested it."

"I'm good, thanks."

"So do you just plan on doing this all weekend? Because I selfishly am not cool with that. We were supposed to take advantage of four days off," he continued, recognizing it as a very real possibility. "Ok, no, we're going out."

"Melvin, I just said I wasn't interes-"

"I heard what you said, and I'm saying no. Now get up and get ready. I'll be back in ten," Melvin continued, ignoring Kate's calls to the contrary.

* * *

"Go away," came a muffled call from within the room beyond. Kate rapped her fist against it one final time before trying the handle. She sighed as it twisted loose and she stepped into the room. For being the middle of the day, the blinds were still drawn and the smell of alcohol and sleep lingered heavily in the space.

"I told you to go away-"

"I brought you food."

The mass under the blankets shifted and she watched half of Melvin's face peer out from the depths of the covers. When his eyes landed on the bag of greasy take-out he crawled from the layers of his blanket cave with renewed energy.

"And pills," Kate said, offering an outstretched hand and a glass of water. Melvin grabbed them gratefully and quickly tossed them back before digging into the paper bag.

"How are you so… alive?" he asked through a bite of burger, quickly shoving fries to fill the remainder of his mouth, rendering him speechless for the next few moments.

"We had very different nights," Kate answered, falling onto the couch. She lifted her fingers to the rod that controlled shades and gave it a slight twist, allowing a glimpse of daylight to flood into the room.

Melvin flinched slightly before shaking his head in disagreement.

"Not possible. You practically drank a bathtub in punch last night."

"No I didn't," Kate replied. "That was _you_."

"No it wasn't-"

"How do you think you got home last night?" Kate asked, a small grin of amusement playing across her face.

"I was…" Melvin began before giving it a serious ponder. "We were at Wilfred…"

"Yea, that's where we started."

"Started?"

"Started."

"Fuck. Did I do anything stupid?"

"You made out with a third year."

"Really?"

Kate nodded as she watched a range of emotions play over Melvin's face while his fingers operated on autopilot, sliding another few fries past his lips.

"Was she cute?" he asked, finally settling on self-pride.

Kate shrugged. "She laughed too much and seemed a bit fake."

"That's not what I asked. Was she cute?"

"You should be more worried about your fake girlfriend breaking up with you over it. Tony and Miller saw which means Chelsea knows which means-"

"Not like I need to keep up with that charade though," Melvin remarked without thinking. It took a moment, but when his words registered through his hazy brain fog, his mouth dangled open, suspended over the burger while his eyes bulged in surprise. "Shit, sorry, too soon?"

"Way too soon."

* * *

The rest of the Thanksgiving weekend passed in a haze. Kate spent the days somewhere between clouded confusion and numbness. She'd written half a dozen unsent text messages that didn't say half the things she wanted them to. The only saving grace was that Mevlin was committed to keeping her distracted. This meant late nights taking advantage of the underpopulated student lounge pool tables, mystery shots of James' stash, and belligerent arguments about whether the Gotham Knights would ever be good enough to make the playoffs.

All of this kept her occupied for the most part. It was only at night that she could truly sink into the reality of Sophie's words. They played on repeat and, at one point, Kate worried she'd started making up parts of the conversation entirely. She wanted a redo; she knew if she could just find the right words, Sophie would come around and change her mind.

The odds of that dwindled by Monday evening when a knock at her door threw another wrench into everything:

" _Hey?" Kate said in surprise at Melvin standing on the other side of her door._

" _She broke up with me."_

" _You're kidding me," Kate said in renewed surprise._

" _By text. It's like our fake relationship meant nothing," Melvin said with forced lightness, but Kate could see the frustration etched in his tone beneath that. "She said it was because Miller told her about Thanksgiving but-"_

" _That isn't why-"_

" _Right," Melvin said, nodding at what they both knew but didn't need to say._

" _Have you talked to her?"_

" _No, you?"_

_Kate shook her head. She had told Melvin earlier that weekend she wanted to give Sophie space, and while she spent every minute fighting it, she'd done just that. She'd worried that pressing her would solidify Sophie's stance on their relationship, and frankly, was scared senseless to risk that when she still hadn't found the words to undo their conversation from days earlier._

" _It's a bit short-sighted," Melvin thought out loud as Kate pulled the door open for him to enter the room._

" _How do you mean?"_

" _She's basically sticking herself with Riley."_

_That variable hadn't crossed Kate's mind, but she knew there was no way it hadn't crossed Sophie's before she made the call to end things with Melvin. She watched as Melvin landed on the couch while she leaned against her bed frame, both lost in thought for a moment._

" _Should I go talk to her?" Melvin asked, but Kate could hear the hesitation in his voice. They both knew this wasn't really about Sophie and Melvin's relationship, and him trying to salvage their artificial one wouldn't address the crux of the issue._

" _No, no," Kate said, shaking her head and permitting Melvin to sigh in relief. "I'll go."_

That was easier said than done. She spent the next day and a half fighting her own nerves while sending text messages into the void, having her calls screened to voicemail, and scouting all of Sophie's usual spots, even risking a run-in with Riley at the door of 419.

" _Have you seen Sophie?"_

" _It's not my shift," Riley shot back with obvious annoyance at answering the door for a Kane. "Besides, shouldn't you be off writing a paper? It's due soon."_

It wasn't until late the following night that Kate tracked her down through the study room check-out logs. She had checked their usual study room earlier with no success; now that she was looking at the log properly though, Kate realized with annoyance that Sophie had booked a different room.

She knocked but didn't wait for a response before rolling into the unfamiliar room. It was smaller than the other one but carried the same generic cream-painted CMU wall charm that all basement study rooms did.

" _What are you doing?"_

" _Kate, hi."_

" _What are you doing," Kate asked again with unwavering intensity._

" _I… studying?" Sophie replied, gesturing toward the books spread around the table, although her face was laced with growing uncertainty._

" _No, we both know that's not what I meant," Kate continued, a small scowl of annoyance playing over her face._

" _Is this about Melvin?"_

" _We can start there," Kate said, feeling a small punch to her gut at Sophie's dismissal of their relationship as an option._

" _There isn't anything to discuss."_

" _You shouldn't break up with him."_

" _I already did."_

" _By text. No one knows yet. It can still be undone," Kate argued._

" _No it can't, Kate," Sophie said pointedly, and another wave of discomfort struck at Kate, leaving her mouth dry and her pulse pounding against her ears. "It was never real."_

" _Maybe so, but what about Riley?" Kate asked, grabbing onto the most reasonable starting point._

" _What about her?"_

" _You can't… you're stuck with her now. You won't be able to crash at James and Melvin's if she-"_

" _There are other couches. And besides, I'm not going to stop Melvin from having a relationship just because it suits my living situation. I think we both know I've hijacked enough of his time, and if last week is any indication, he'd be lying if he said otherwise."_

_These were all points Kate had considered but hoped wouldn't matter. That word had trickled back to Sophie about Melvin's escapades only added to her arsenal in the argument that followed. Kate knew her points made little sense, but the truth of the matter was that she was going to throw everything at the wall in hopes something would stick because she wasn't sure she could handle the loss._

" _You're not listening," Sophie said for the third time since Kate had barged into the room. They were unmoved from their original positions: Kate standing and Sophie sitting, but both had hardened their stances._

" _No, I'm listening just fine. I just don't agree with anything you're saying."_

" _Then we're going to have to agree to disagree," Sophie said, her own frustration and stubbornness growing with each passing minute._

" _No, I don't agree with that either," Kate said, having abandoned all pretence that their discussion had anything to do with Melvin. "You're being short-sighted about this, Soph."_

" _No, you're the one being short-sighted. This was never going to work."_

" _I don't understand why you won't fight for this. We're both on the same page about our feelings, right?"_

" _Kate, don't do this."_

" _Then let's figure out a way. It doesn't have to be like this. There can be a compromise."_

" _Be serious, Kate. People compromise on things like paint color or where to go for dinner."_

" _Fine, but we still have three years to figure this ou-"_

" _Kate," Sophie interrupted, her voice raised. Kate watched Sophie's eyes redden as she blinked back angry, frustrated tears. "Enough. It's over."_

" _You don't mean that."_

" _Maybe not," Sophie answered with an honesty that shocked Kate. "But that doesn't change anything."_

" _Soph, that… that changes everything," Kate said, clutching at the shred of hope Sophie had served up. "If you aren't sure maybe we can-"_

" _I didn't say that, Kate," Sophie said, shaking her head. "I didn't say I wasn't sure."_

" _Yea, but-"_

" _No, enough. Honestly, I don't know what to say to make this any clearer: you aren't going to change my mind."_

_There was a forcefulness to how Sophie delivered her words that caused Kate to step backwards and fall silent in surprise. This didn't feel like the same Sophie she'd known even a week earlier, and this definitely wasn't how she expected the conversation to go. She knew going into it that the future of their relationship was shrouded in uncertainty, but there wasn't a doubt in her mind that they'd walk out of the room on the same team again._

" _Soph-"_

" _Please just go."_

What happened the final weeks of term Kate couldn't recall with any particular clarity. Unlike any other time her and Sophie argued, there was no light at the end of the tunnel. Usually one of two things would happen: they'd shelve their stubbornness and finally talk it out or Melvin would intervene to call out their absurdity and spur them into action. This time was different.

It was now the final two days of term. Exams had come and gone, and everyone was either working on the final Chambers paper they'd procrastinated over or coasting into winter break. Kate found herself in the company of the latter group in the lounge on the eve of their final day. The last of James' mystery bottle was being shared, and Kate was enjoying the bittersweet distraction that the buzz of alcohol and the laughter of her classmates brought.

She'd barely packed but had plenty of time given the circumstances. She'd booked a ticket on the only available bus back to Gotham which was due to depart the following night, but she had no intentions of using it. Instead, she'd spent the afternoon scouting out a generic car rental company that would suit her needs.

A few others had already left for break including Martha and Chelsea with the remaining group all due to leave within the next twenty-four hours. Miller had just left to replenish the empty bottle with one of his own bottom shelf whiskies when a familiar voice interrupted the festivities.

"Katherine."

The voice caused the laughter to fade, and Kate pivoted around in her seat to find a seething Riley standing at the lounge's threshold.

"Is Riley short for something?" Kate asked lightly.

"What?" Riley replied, startled by the question.

"You always call me 'Katherine', but I feel jilted that I don't get the same honor. What is Riley short for? Riliffer? Rilabeth? Rilamantha?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Riley's eyes narrowed in annoyance, clearly surprised that Kate would carry such a cavalier tone with her.

Kate feigned consideration with a heavy layer of sarcasm before blinking back blankly. "Nope."

Riley's eyes widened in surprise before she recovered with a scowl of disapproval. "I think you do."

"Kate," Melvin said softly, his eyes casting a warning look toward her as he pieced together the reason for Riley's arrival.

"I really don't," Kate replied with an air of casualness.

"What are you doing?" Melvin muttered quietly.

"You should really listen to Marvin," Riley said.

"Melvin," Kate corrected.

"What?" Riley asked.

"His name is Melvin. We've talked about this."

"About Melvin?"

"No, about your incredibly pathetic attempts at being a villain," Kate said with impatient disinterest.

"And I think you're forgetting a very important point, Katherine. I hold the cards," Riley said, her grin showing through a clenched jaw.

"Not anymore."

For everyone else, Riley and Kate might as well have been talking in code, but Melvin's eyes widened in shock. "Kate, what are y-"

"I don't care. You win."

" _Kate_ ," Melvin hissed.

"I'd be careful, Kane. It sounds to me like you're throwing in the towel."

"She isn't, right Kate?" Melvin interjected. "What do you need, Riley?"

"See, Marvin knows how to negotiate."

"Get lost Riley. No one is doing anything," Kate continued, shooting Melvin a glare. The look was enough for him to pause.

"Marvin?" Riley asked, her attention on him.

"What Kate said," he muttered. Kate let out a sigh she had been holding in as Riley's face fell.

"Fine," Riley said with finality as she left the room. "I'd start packing if I were you."

"What was that about?" Tony asked when the door had closed fully.

"Nothing," Melvin and Kate said in unison.

"I should get going. I have a thing," Kate said lamely, earning looks of obvious suspicion from the group.

"Hey, hold up," Melvin called from down the hall. Kate paused for half a moment, her key hanging in limbo in front of the door. She shook herself back to her task and unlatched the door. "Kate," Melvin said again, meeting her at the door. "We need to talk."

"No, we don't," Kate said, swinging the door closed only to have it catch against Melvin's arm.

"Yes, we do. What were you thinking?"

"That I'm done dealing with Riley Thomas."

"Any reason for the sudden change in heart?" Melvin asked with a knowing tone, slipping into the room.

"Drop it. It's done."

"Don't be dramatic. I can help. I'm not a genius, but I can help you."

"Not a chance."

"So it's ok when you're the one taking the brunt of it? You've been taking her shit all semester and the moment someone else steps up to the plate you bail?"

"No, I'm saying it's ok when it's me dealing with my own mess. I didn't ask you to help. I don't need you to help; I don't _want_ you to help."

"That's rich coming from someone who went behind my back and paid my tuition and housing."

"That's different."

"Oh? Because you get to keep your own pride intact?"

Kate's jaw fell open at Melvin's retort. She paused before shaking her resolve back into place. "That's not what this is about."

"Yes it is, Kate. You've spent the entire semester putting up with something alone, never once asking for help from your friends. You didn't tell anyone for weeks and when you finally did, it was me and it was under the condition I keep it from everyone else. You only told Sophie because I said something. James is still completely in the dark. We just left a room of people who think of you as a friend and have no idea what's going on. Riley has been bullying everyone for months, and you worst of all. If you put your pride aside for one damn minute you'd realize we're all in this together, and we'd do anything to help you, but you won't let anyone do that. You're too fucking stubborn and uncompromising."

"Says you who was going to up and vanish at the end of term without telling anyone."

"That's different."

"Oh, ok, so double standards can't be my thing, but you're allowed to use that argument when it suits your agenda."

"I thought my sister was _dying_ , Kate. I figured of anyone you'd get that," he shot back. "I wasn't hiding it because of my pride or because I was too stubborn to ask for help. I was terrified. I'm still terrified."

"I'm not doubting that, Melvin, but you can't tell me the situation is any different."

"You are being so irrational right now."

"Because I'm done playing Riley's game? How is that irrational?"

"Because of why you're calling it quits. Don't play dumb with me; you and Sophie broke up. That sucks, I get it."

"That has nothing to do with this."

"For fuck's sake, Kate, stop it, will you? You can keep lying to me, but when are you finally going to stop lying to yourself? Because it's getting exhausting being the little voice of reason fighting your bitterness."

"Don't worry, Riley just relieved you of that duty," Kate shot back.

* * *

A knock on her door nearly an hour later wasn't enough time for Kate's anger to dissipate which made who was on the other side of it only cause it to surge again.

"What do you want?" Kate spat out.

"Where's my paper?" Riley asked, her own face cast in anger.

"Was I not clear before?"

"Yes, you were making a show in front of your little friends, but now I'm here to collect."

"Get lost, Riley," Kate said, swinging the door shut only to catch Riley's shoe and block it from closing.

"I need that paper!" Riley shouted.

"Then I suggest you go start reading up on guerilla warfare," Kate replied with renewed coolness.

"You are going to regret this."

"I really doubt that," Kate continued, the bitterness that had been growing over the last few weeks showing in full force.

"Hey, what's going on?"

The voice took them both by surprise. It was Riley who reacted first, glancing down the hall to identify the voice. Kate was far too familiar with it to need to do the same.

"Nothing," Riley replied.

"Kate?" Sophie asked, coming into view.

"It's fine. We're fine."

"What's with all the shouting?" she continued, unphased by the deflections from the two.

"Have you never had a disagreement?" Riley asked dryly.

"Yes, but it rarely echoes off the walls of the entire floor," Sophie replied, matching Riley's response with her own sardonic tone.

"Maybe you have better sense that Marvin-"

"-Melvin," Kate and Sophie both corrected in unison.

"Whatever. How about it? Care to convince Kate here to-"

"Riley," Kate interrupted, her tone sharp. "We're done."

"It's your funeral," Riley said as she backed away, her threat poorly veiled and allowing Sophie to very quickly discern what was going on.

"You've got it a little backwards, Riley," Sophie said lightly, leaving the other two to do a double-take in confusion.

"I don't think I do," Riley said, her eyes flashing darkly. "You see, Kate and I have this deal. If she doesn't fulfill, she's out. Toast. Sayonara."

"Actually, Riley, that's where you're wrong. The only one at risk of being kicked out is you," Sophie replied.

"What?" Kate asked, her voice caked in surprise.

"You remember that stunt you pulled a few weeks ago at the course run?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Riley feigned.

"Turns out Miller and James had a clear view of your little knot work-"

"Bullshit. That was all Kate. Even she said so-"

"That's not what their signed statements say. The very signed statements I just handed over to Lieutenant Reyes."

Kate gaped. "Sophie-"

"You didn't. It won't hold," Riley said, her eyes widening.

"And that's where you're wrong again. See, two statements like this raise all sorts of questions, and Reyes takes student safety very seriously. He's looking into opening an official review of your enrollment status."

"He won't find anything-"

"Except he will. Once he starts interviewing the list of students willing to go on the record about you, that is. It's not a small list, either. I think he'd find it particularly interesting to hear you've been bullying half our class all semester. That's all on top of the vandalism from the beginning of term."

"Y-you wouldn't."

"You're right. We wouldn't."

Riley let out a sigh of relief.

"On two conditions."

"Wh-"

"Number one: you quit the bullying. If I hear so much as a whisper that you've threatened or harassed anyone, I will make sure you're done."

"What's the second," Riley growled, her fists clenched in anger.

"You leave Kate alone. This article from the Gotham Gazette never sees the light of day."

"This is a fucking joke."

"Maybe, but it's the only way you're walking away from this unscathed."

"And what's stopping me from just taking this article straight to leadership?"

"You can, but do you really think you have much sway now that there's an open case on you? All you'll do is add fuel to the story you have it out for Kate."

"But I do," Riley muttered through a clenched jaw.

"Maybe you should have played your cards better."

Riley shot Kate a glare. Unfortunately Kate's expression had nothing to offer but obvious surprise mixed with her own anger.

"I'd go get started on that paper if I were you. It's due at midnight," Sophie advised.

A look of panic hit Riley who glanced between Kate and Sophie before shifting toward her watch. Kate watched as Riley backed away, her own patience for the situation thinning. It was only when Riley was safely out of sight that Kate turned her attention to Sophie.

"Why did you do that?" Kate asked, her voice low and angry.

"Wh-what? I thought you'd… Kate, Riley isn't a problem anymore."

"Only because you had James and Miller lie for it," Kate continued.

"No, no, they didn't lie. I told you weeks ago they saw what happened. She undid the knot. Everyone knows that-"

"You shouldn't have done anything, Sophie."

"I haven't given them to Reyes yet."

"What?" Kate gaped. "You were bluffing?"

"I was speaking from the future," Sophie offered.

"No, Sophie, you were lying, and if Riley ever finds out that's going to make it ten times worse. You should have stayed out of this."

"But she was going to go to leadership. You were going to get kicked out."

"So?"

"You're joking right?"

"Does it look like I am?"

"And then what? Just let her get you expelled?"

"Yes!" Kate shouted. Sophie took a step back in surprise, unsure how to respond to this unfamiliar version of Kate. "That is exactly what you should have done."

"What? That makes no sense. What about this whole semester? You're just going to throw it all away?"

"I don't really think I owe you an explanation."

"So that's it?"

"Apparently not anymore," Kate growled, gesturing toward the direction Riley had left. "But you just had to- you should have stayed out of this."

"No," Sophie said softly.

"Excuse me?" Kate asked. She meant it rhetorically and was caught off guard when Sophie answered.

"I'm not going to stay out of this."

Kate struggled to contain her temper at Sophie's words. It hit her in all the wrong ways: who was she to intervene when she'd made it clear she wanted nothing to do with a relationship?

"Because I don't want you to leave. Because I don't want to not see you every day," Sophie said with the same softness, creating a stark contrast to Kate's biting tone.

"I can't decide what's worse: the irony of that or your selfishness for saying it," Kate shot back. The shock of Kate's remark was written all over Sophie's face, and just as quickly as the conversation began, it ended with Kate slamming the door shut on the second relationship in as many hours.


End file.
